Evolution of a Turk
by Kathythetwisted
Summary: Repost. Reno's laid up after Sector 7. Aeris and RedXIII both escaped. Hojo does what he has to to breed the last Ancient. That's right, it's the dreaded MPREG. Poor you, poor Reno. R and R please. Finally finished!
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Hojo has to resort to plan 'B' after Aeris and RedXIII escape from his clutches. All he really wants is to breed Aeris; all he really _needs_ is someone to breed her with. And, of course, somewhere to incubate the lil behbeh. With Reno so close by, recovering from his injuries after Sector Seven...yeah, you know where I'm going with this.

Warnings: No real pairings. _Biologically_ it's Aeris/Reno, but there shall be NO romance (or even real interaction) between them. **MPREG**, language, and quite a bit of it because Reno is a main character. That's right, this story is rated M due to the _language_, more than the MPREG. Nonetheless, if ANYTHING in my warnings squicks or bothers you, turn back now. And I think I've dropped enough MPREG bombs for you all to know what's in store. ;)

Feedback: Please! It makes me a better writer, and just happy in general. You can hit me up here or email me: kathythetwisted-at-yahoo-dot-com

EDIT, as of 3-29-09: Oh my gosh, you guys. Did I really have this 'chapter' divided up into the Prologue, Chapter One, and Chapter 1? Why didn't someone say something? I feel like such a dork! In any case, that silly error's been corrected.

Disclaimer: Anything and everything related to Final Fantasy VII is all property of Square-Enix. I own nothing, I just do this for fun.

A/N: Yes, this is also at AdultFanFiction-dot-net. This story is a repost for _this_ site. It was originally taken down because of no reviews. So, yes, reviews are important to me. I accept all sorts. Good, bad, and anything else you want to throw my way.

* * *

Prologue

"_Hojo _came to see you?" Rude asked, offering up a slightly bemused expression. The expression was directed at Reno.

Reno nodded.

"Hmm."

"Yeah. Came barging in with one of the nurses right after I got here. She drew some blood, then they both just left."

Neither man said anything for a moment. Reno was still recovering from wounds he'd sustained while on duty, and Rude just wasn't much for talking. In fact, Reno was about the only person he would carry on an entire conversation with.

"Hey, Rude?" Reno called out.

Rude looked at the redhead inquisitively.

"You think it's weird they haven't let me outta here? I mean, I'm not that messed up."

The bigger man furrowed his brow. Now that Reno mentioned it, it did seem a little odd.

"Yeah, I thought so too. You don't think they found something wrong with me or anything, do you?"

Rude shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe they just don't trust you."

Reno rolled his eyes and pouted. "Yeah yeah. Guess I'm stuck here. I'll just waste away in this shitty little room until..."

"Knock it off, Reno. It's only been a couple of days."

"Yeah. For what, though? Couple of cracked ribs, a dislocated shoulder and a concussion? That's overkill, man, and you know it. Something's wrong, Rude. I can feel it."

* * *

"What happened to him?" Rude asked, taking big, swift steps.

Tseng shrugged his shoulders, matching Rude's stride as they both headed for the elevator.

"I guess his appendix ruptured and they had to operate. Good thing he was still here," Tseng nonchalantly remarked. "Otherwise he might not have survived."

Rude's eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses. Something funny was going on.

When the duo reached Reno's room, Tseng didn't knock, he just casually opened the door and stepped inside. Rude was a step behind him.

"He fucked me over, Rude...he really did." Those were the first words out of Reno's mouth, as Rude tried to catch his unfocused eyes.

"What are you talking about, Reno?" Tseng asked, cautiously.

"Did something funny to me..." the redhead murmured. He glanced over at Tseng, then at Rude, and said, "Make him leave."

Rude and Tseng exchanged a look, and Tseng nodded. "I'll leave. See what you can get out of him. Something seems..._off _about this."

Rude nodded and turned back to Reno as Tseng left the room.

"Appendi...pendi...fuck it. My shit didn't rupture. I felt fine. Hojo just...came to see me again, with a couple other people...talking about 'the Ancient this' and 'the Ancient that.' Then they took me to the lab..."

"Hojo took you and experimented on you?"

Reno nodded, closing his eyes.

"You sure, Reno? This isn't the medication talking?"

"Goddamnit, Rude, I know when I've been fucked with, and I'm telling you I've been fucked with!" Reno shouted, rolling away from Rude.

"Someone cut into you for no reason?" Rude asked.

The redhead nodded, but refused to say anything.

"Lemme see."

"Sick fuck," Reno grumbled.

Rude chuckled. "Nothing I ain't seen before. Lemme see."

Reno heaved a sigh and slowly rolled onto his back, allowing Rude to pull back the sheets covering him, and lift his gown. Reno had stitches all right. Nothing about the size or location of the incision lent itself to an appendectomy, though. Instead, a line had been carved into his abdomen, a couple of inches below the bellybutton.

Rude didn't say anything, though Reno spoke as if he had. "Yeah, tell me about it."

"I'm getting Tseng," Rude said, almost robotically, turning sharply toward the door.

Reno slowly exhaled.

"I have to. You understand?"

"Yeah."

"Be right back."

"Yeah."

Just as promised, Rude was back in a flash, with Tseng at his side.

"Didja come for the free show, boss?" Reno asked, wickedly.

"Something like that," Tseng responded, curtly.

"Knock yourself out," Reno conceded.

Figuring that was as close to an invitation as he was going to get, Tseng took a step closer to Reno's bed, and gently as he could, lifted the sheet covering his subordinate, then his gown. His face remained calm, though both Reno and Rude could tell when their boss was very, very angry about something.

"I may not be a doctor, but I can tell you that is in no way from an appendectomy."

"Yeah. We know what much," Reno mumbled.

"There is no organ there to be removed, and certainly not one's appendix."

"So, if Hojo didn't take anything out of him...?" Rude asked.

Tseng frowned and looked down at the floor.

"Don't say it," Reno said, pleadingly.

"Hojo put something in him," Tseng concluded.

Reno groaned. "I said, 'Don't say it.'"

* * *

Chapter 1

"Doing better, Reno?" Tseng asked, casually, though he was quite curious about his colleague's health as of late. Reno wouldn't say a word about it unless asked, seeming not to want to admit anything out of the ordinary had happened. Though he had been one hundred percent convinced he'd been violated while under the influence of however many different medications, and fresh from what seemed to be unnecessary surgery, he now refused to acknowledge any of it if not forced to.

Reno rolled his eyes. "They told me not to drink. Stupid antibiotics."

Tseng nodded. He'd been hoping for a more elaborate response, but didn't really expect to get one. He told Reno, "Speaking of that, Hojo resigned."

"He what?" Reno asked.

"He resigned," Tseng repeated. "He wrote a letter of resignation and left Midgar without telling anyone. We're looking into it."

"What do you want from me? Want me to track him down?"

"I don't want anything from you at the moment. You're still on leave for your injuries, remember?"

"Then why are you telling me this?" Reno demanded.

"We still don't know what he did to you," was Tseng's response.

"I'm fine," the redhead insisted.

"We don't know that."

"Whatever he was trying to do, he couldn't have finished," Reno said, with impressive conviction, though it may just have been to mask his uncertainty. "And if he just up and left, he isn't gonna finish."

"We don't know that either," Tseng was quick to remind him.

"Yeah, well, we don't even know what he was trying to do to me in the first place."

"Precisely," Tseng agreed.

"What the hell are you getting at?"

"I suggest you abstain from any amoral activities for the time being," Tseng requested, with a forced smile.

"Abstain from any amoral activities? So, I'm fired. Is that what you're saying?"

Tseng chuckled, then sighed. Reasoning with Reno was never an easy task. "You are not fired. Take care of your body until we can figure out exactly what Hojo was planning on doing to it." When Tseng saw Reno roll his eyes, he continued, "Do I have to make a list off all the things I don't want you doing?"

"Yeah, alright. I wanna see this list of yours," Reno challenged, and his eyes lit up as he did. He took great pleasure in being difficult, after all.

"You _will_ see it, and since you're forcing me to do that, you're ordered to abide by that list until further notice. Rude, Elena and I are leaving tomorrow. We'll see you in Junon for Rufus's parade."

Reno and Tseng exchanged a nod, then Tseng made his exit.

* * *

"Listen to this: 'do not consume any alcoholic beverages,'" Reno began, both he and Rude pausing to look at the bottle of vodka between them. He continued reading from a heavily creased piece of Tseng's personalized stationary. "'Do not smoke.' And right after that he's got 'anything'," Reno paused briefly, then added, "_underlined_."

Rude smirked and silently put out his cigarette.

"What the hell, Rude?"

Rude just shrugged.

"Hell, whatever." Reno returned to the list. "'Distance yourself from secondhand smoke.'" He gave Rude a look. "You seen this before?"

Rude shrugged again. "Lucky guess."

"Lucky guess, _my ass_. You in on this too?"

"Just doing what the boss says."

"Yeah, I bet."

"_You _gonna do what he says?"

"You mean, am I gonna follow this fucked up little list? What choice do I have? He ordered me to."

Somehow, Rude seemed satisfied.

"Then I guess there's no point in staying here," Reno muttered, sliding out of his side of the booth. Cocking his head to the side, he asked, "You wanna...hell, I don't know. What's there to do around here, worth a shit, that doesn't involve booze?"

Rude shook his head. "We're tracking Avalanche. They probably went to Kalm for now. We leave tomorrow. Early start."

Reno nodded. "Right, then. Guess I'll...go to bed."

Rude chose that moment to stand up from the booth, laying a few bills down on the table as he did. "See you in Junon."

"Yeah," Reno agreed, somewhat distractedly, standing in front of the table, still staring down at his list. He finally read, "'Get plenty of rest.'" He shook his head and stomped out of the bar.

* * *

If only he could get some rest _now_...

Reno yawned and rubbed at his temples. The trip to Junon seemed long -- longer than he remembered. Despite the fact that he'd more or less had the past couple of weeks off, and had done very little in the way of work, he was more exhausted than he could ever remember being. Felt like shit, too. He told himself he just wasn't over whatever bug he'd caught. No doubt his immune system had been weakened after his "appendectomy."

First thing he did after locating, then joining Tseng and Elena was flag down a waitress and order a drink -- and a strong one at that -- but to no avail. Tseng intercepted the order, pulled rank, and reminded Reno of "the list" when he threw a fit, and pretty much bribed the waitress to see that both she and the bartender did _his _bidding and not Reno's.

So Reno was given a soda. The waitress was given a company credit card for the drinks, and a thick wad of gil for her troubles, and Reno was given a _soda_. One with no rum. That, Reno thought, was like... screw it, he couldn't be metaphorical when he was sober. And sick. And tired. In fact, he'd nearly fallen asleep in the booth more than once. They were in the corner and it was dark. The music wasn't very loud; it was almost cozy.

What the hell was Tseng thinking, asking Reno to meet him at a _bar,_ if he still expected him to obey those ridiculous rules?

It had been a rather boring get-together without Rude around, and the lack of excitement only added to Reno's fatigue. Rude, for some reason, was off the hook. He'd probably headed off to his favorite spot in all of Junon: a little pit called the Dark Chocobo, where the regulars were all complete freaks, but you couldn't find a better card game.

"Reno?" Tseng called out, somewhat suspiciously. Elena had excused herself to go to the ladies room, and Rude was off gambling, leaving the Turks leader and his roguish second-in-command alone.

"Yeah?" Reno looked up, sleepily. He'd almost dozed off again.

Tseng smiled a little, swirling what little remained of his drink, looking down into the glass as he did. After a long pause, he informed Reno, "I found out what Hojo was trying to do with you."

"No shit?"

"None."

"Well, you gonna tell me?"

"Of course."

"Then tell me already."

"I was reading over his files, those I was able to access anyway. He's quite determined to breed Aeris," Tseng explained.

"The Ancient?"

Tseng nodded his confirmation.

Ignoring the look of longing Tseng always wore when he spoke of Aeris, Reno, more concerned with how _he_ supposedly fit into all of this, chose to ask, "What the hell does that have to do with me?"

"Did you ever see that specimen of his -- the red, cat-like thing?"

"No, but I heard about it."

"That was what he wanted to breed her with."

Reno got a look on his face. "Sick fucker."

"Indeed. Thankfully, he wasn't able to do that, as both Aeris and the other specimen escaped the night the president was murdered."

"Yeah, this is all interesting, but what the fuck does any of it have to do with me? I don't need any kind of background here -- I know Hojo's one twisted bastard. Get to it, Tseng."

"As you wish. Hojo didn't abandon this project of his -- this obsession with breeding Aeris, if you will. He merely altered it," Tseng explained.

"Altered it how?"

"He had DNA from her, and from the other creature as well. All he really needed was a surrogate."

"Yeah."

"...it's you, Reno."

"_What's _me?" Reno asked, hesitantly.

"You're not misunderstanding me. Hojo...somehow, he impregnated you. The surgical procedure was most likely how he did it. He had to have given you some sort of artificial womb. That would certainly explain the location of the incision."

"You _would_ do this, wouldn't you? Spring this bullshit on me in a public place. Well, it's not fucking funny. What, did Rude put you up to it? Or did you just decide to do this on your own? You're pretty imaginative with this shit, gotta give you that." Reno spoke softly, but bitingly.

"I'm not joking. I've got a hard copy of all the files I was able to look over, if you want to see."

"You're not joking? You just fucking told me I'm having kittens, and now you're telling me you're not joking? Go. Fuck. Yourself," Reno spat.

Tseng shook his head. He knew Reno well enough not to be surprised by the reaction his news got. "Something happened with the sample he had from...RedXIII, I think is what he called it, and he wasn't able to use it. You're the father, _and _the surrogate. He has it documented; conception was confirmed."

"Oh, _I'm_ the father? Well, that makes this all okay, doesn't it?" Reno muttered, acidly, lighting up a cigarette.

Tseng was quick to yank the cigarette from his subordinate's mouth, earning him a vicious stare. "You were ordered not to smoke until further notice. Or did you forget?"

"How fucking long have you known about this?" Reno demanded, eyes narrowed and practically burning a hole through his boss. His tone was beyond accusatory.

Before Tseng could respond to Reno, Elena had returned from the restroom. She slid into the booth, on Tseng's side, of course, the look on her face making it clear she could sense something had happened between him and Reno in her absence.

"I'm fucking outta here," Reno muttered, pulling himself up and out of the booth. He looked down at Tseng, "And I'm fucking killing _it_. I don't care _what _I am to it. See you at the fucking parade."

* * *

A/N: Aw, now that wasn't so bad, was it? Even if it was, I'd still like to hear what you thought! All constructive reviews are welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

Summary and warnings are listed before chapter one. In case you somehow missed it, this lil fic here is MPREG, through and through. So steer clear if you have an aversion to that. There's also a fair amount of swearing.

Disclaimer: Anything and everything related to Final Fantasy VII is all property of Square-Enix. I own nothing, I just do this for fun.

* * *

Something had happened between Tseng and Reno, most certainly initiated by Reno, or so Elena told herself. Tseng would never. Neither man would say anything about it, choosing to act as if nothing out of the ordinary had taken place. But things were tense. Reno took all of his orders with a short "Yes, sir." He didn't complain about anything, or contradict anything just to do so; he just went about his business like a robot. In Tseng's presence, he was more stoic than Rude.

Oh yes, something big was going on between Tseng and Reno, and it was all Reno's fault. Elena Marshall vowed to get to the bottom of it, no matter what the task required of her. Even if it meant spending time with the redheaded menace and maybe getting to know him a little in the process. Whatever she learned, though, she couldn't unlearn, and that would prove to be the most difficult lesson of all.

The quartet was crossing the ocean now, headed first, for Costa del Sol. Reno hadn't seemed happy about traveling by ship, but was remarkably subdued; the brief look of disdain he got when Tseng had told them they were "taking the long way," faded almost as soon as it appeared and he said nothing.

It had been something Tseng had arranged beforehand, as a little treat for his team. Rather than take a Shin-Ra helicopter from Junon to Costa, they'd travel by ship. Just his sneaky way of giving them all a couple of days off in between missions, and babysitting President Rufus, and whatever else Heidegger ordered them to do.

Elena looked down at Reno, sprawled out on his bed and almost felt sorry for him. He was paler than usual, and he wasn't moving.

"What?" he grumbled, only opening one eye. However, the look he gave her made her feel like there were _thousands _of eyes on her.

"You might feel better if you came up to the deck," she said.

"The fuck do you care?"

"I was just trying to help," she informed him, unable to conceal that she had been wounded by his harsh tone.

"Right, then. Well, don't let the door hit you on the ass."

Elena was at the door, all but ready to leave Reno to his seasickness and brooding, when something stopped her. "I never would've guessed you get seasick."

"I don't," was Reno's stern, but slightly anguished reply.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Get out of my face."

"Oh, Reno," Elena murmured. "I'm sure you'll feel better when we reach land."

"Not likely."

Each time Elena seemed ready to leave Reno, something compelled her to stay. She was reminded of her original motivation for inviting herself into his cabin: her determination to get to the bottom of his falling out with Tseng. "What happened in Junon?"

"Nothing."

"I know that's not true."

"It's not important."

"Then something _did _happen!"

"Kill me now," Reno grumbled.

"He's our boss. You're going to have to get over this, whatever it is. You're going to have to make up with him sooner or later," Elena told him.

"Make up with him?" Reno chuckled a little, groaning a second later. "Don't make me laugh, it makes the nausea worse."

Elena frowned and fell silent. She just stood stupidly at Reno's side, watching the stillness of his body and listening to his breathing -- a clear sign of just how poorly he was feeling.

Reno finally sat up, very slowly, and glanced over at her. "It's not Tseng...it's just something he said to me, alright? Quit bugging me about it already."

Elena nodded. "I'll leave you alone, you look awful," she said. She'd gotten enough out of the man for now. His anger toward Tseng seemed to be diminishing, too -- something she saw as a very good sign.

Reno rolled his eyes. He took a deep breath, calling out to Elena, "Hey, you know where I can set up an abortion?"

* * *

"Who'd you knock up, Reno?" Rude asked, an amused smirk upon his face, as Reno finally made his way up on deck.

"Goddamn, she's got a big mouth sometimes," was all Reno said.

"This girl, she doesn't wanna have it?" Rude asked.

"No. She doesn't. She doesn't want a damn thing to do with it," Reno answered, blankly. No need to tell Rude that this 'she' they were both speaking of -- this poor, unlucky lass Reno had knocked up -- was in fact Reno.

"Didn't know you were seeing anyone," Rude commented.

"I'm not."

Rude actually chuckled a little. "Sure it's yours?"

"Unfortunately," Reno muttered. A second later he asked, "You think Elena told Tseng?"

"That you asked her where you could set up an abortion?"

Reno nodded.

"She told _me_."

"I'm gonna take that as a yes, then," Reno concluded, angrily adding, "_Fuck_," a minute later.

"Come on, Reno. Let's have a drink."

Just as Reno was trying to decide whether to continue to abide by "the list," or say fuck it and get completely wasted -- what did it matter since he wasn't gonna have the damn thing anyway? -- something else demanded his attention. "What the hell?" Reno asked no one in particular, and not really expecting an answer.

"Sounds like something's happening below deck," Rude said.

A thick fog had fallen over the ship, and all hell seemed to have broken loose beneath. It had turned cold, and visibility was getting poorer by the second.

"We gotta find Elena and Tseng," Reno said.

"Yeah," Rude agreed.

"Then we can figure out what the hell is going on."

"Yeah."

It wasn't long before the two Turks had a blood trail to follow, and it wasn't long after that, that they found their leader.

"What's going on?" Rude asked Tseng.

Tseng shook his head. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Where's Elena?" Rude asked.

"We split up to look for you and Reno."

"I'm right here. I haven't seen him," Elena chimed in. "I searched the whole..." She paused to catch her breath. She was hunched over, hands on her knees. "Reno's not in his..."

"Cabin?" Reno asked, from his position next to Rude, and obscured from Elena's view.

Elena looked up. "Reno!"

"Yeah?"

"I looked everywhere for you. When I didn't see you in your room, I thought he might have gotten you."

Rude, Reno and Tseng gave Elena a look.

"Elena?" Tseng asked.

"Sephiroth."

* * *

Reunited, and now four strong, the Turks made their way to the cargo holds. There were only a handful of crew members down there, and none were alive. The power was out, and the stench of blood was overwhelming as Reno, Rude, Elena and Tseng had to maneuver their way around several recently deceased crewmen.

"Ah, hell," Reno groaned. The odor certainly wasn't helping his nausea. He'd almost forgotten about it in the midst of all the chaos, but now it was back, full-force.

"Alright, Reno?" Tseng asked, casually.

"Just fucking peachy," was the somewhat pained reply.

"Lost your stomach for this?" Rude asked, almost teasingly.

"Eat a dick," Reno muttered.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Rude retorted. Reno was about the only person who could get him to stoop to such a level.

"So much. I lay awake at night lusting for you, Rude. Didn't you know?"

Choosing not to acknowledge Reno and Rude's current crudeness, Tseng addressed Elena instead, asking, "Are you sure it was Sephiroth?"

"I never saw him, but that's what the eyewitnesses were saying. Of course, not many who were close enough to see anything _survived_," she replied, glad the conversation topic seemed to have changed.

"Hmm." Tseng knelt down, mid-thought. Hand on the floor, he looked up and back at his team and said, "There was a fight here."

"You call _this _a fight?" Reno asked, incredulous.

Tseng shook his head. "No, _this _was a massacre. But there was a fight. I wonder who it was and how it is they managed to get away..."

"Avalanche?" Elena guessed, halfheartedly.

"If they were able to get on board the ship."

"Should we be looking for them?" Rude asked.

"Yes, I think we should be," Tseng replied. "You and Reno go. Elena and I will stay here and see what we can dig up."

Reno and Rude took the order wordlessly, each offering Tseng a quick nod before turning to leave, stepping over bodies once again.

* * *

"Glad to be outta there. That smell was about to put me over the edge," Reno said, somewhat absently, taking the stairs two at a time, unaware that Rude was intently watching his every move. "I'm gonna fuck them up so hard when we catch them. After everything they've done to me."

"What the hell is your problem lately, Reno?" Rude asked, out of nowhere.

"What?" Reno asked, visibly surprised by the question.

"Whatever happened between you and Tseng back in Junon, then you're spending almost every day in bed, sick as a dog, and now you're bothered by a little blood. It's not like you."

"It's nothing."

"It isn't nothing if it's effecting you on the job."

"Why don't you do what you do best, Rude, and shut the fuck up?"

"And you're moody as hell lately, too. You on the rag or something?" Rude asked, smirking slightly.

Reno turned sharply and roughly grabbed at Rude's bicep. "I thought I told you to shut the fuck up," he spat, glaring daggers at his partner.

"Lay off," Rude said simply, pausing for a split-second between his words, to tell Reno he meant business.

"Do I look like a fucking woman to you?" Reno demanded, letting go of Rude's arm.

"Hell, Reno. No, you don't look like a woman. Trust me."

"Then why the fuck did you say that, huh?"

"It's a figure of speech."

"Never," Reno warned, "I _never _want to hear you compare me to a woman again, you understand?" He stepped out in front of Rude but was stopped a second later, as -- much like he had done to Rude -- he was grabbed by the arm and forced to turn around.

"What's going on?" Rude asked, simply.

"_Lay off_, Rude," Reno said, mockingly, trying to jerk his arm free.

"Are you sick?" Rude asked, seriously. He thought back to Midgar, to when he'd visited Reno, and how neither of them could figure out why he hadn't been discharged when his injuries really weren't so serious.

_"You don't think they found something wrong with me or anything, do you?"_

"Sick doesn't even begin to describe it," Reno muttered, looking at his arm -- more specifically, the large hand gripping it. "Now let go. We got shit to do, right? Can't let this effect us on the job, right?"

"What do you have?" Rude asked.

"Not now."

"Can it be cured?"

"Why the hell are you so damn chatty today?"

"When'd you get it?"

"I'm about ready to-" Reno said, threateningly, but was cut off before he could finish his statement.

"How'd you finally find out?"

Reno practically growled. "I'm not sick, you nosey fucker, I'm pregnant. I'll find a way to "cure" it if it's the last thing I do. I got "it" about a month ago. From _Hojo_. Tseng told me. He found it in Hojo's files. Wondered what he put in me. Well, _that's _it."

Rude actually looked stunned. It wasn't often that one could detect any sort of expression on his face, at least not one that told of distress.

"Now let go," Reno spoke slowly, in a quiet, but altogether vicious tone.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, it's probably highly unlikely that the Turks were on the same ship to Costa del Sol as Avalanche, but I'd love it if you ignored that. Don't worry, Reno will get nicer as the story progresses; he's just so much fun to write as a jerk. And remember to drop me a line and tell me what you thought. I'd love to know.


	3. Chapter 3

Summary and warnings are listed before chapter 1. MPREG and swearing, if you forgot.

Disclaimer: Anything and everything related to Final Fantasy VII is all property of Square-Enix. I own nothing, I just do this for fun.

A/N: This chapter is weak and I'm truly sorry. I've got almost everything else done with this fic, but this particular part was a thorn in my side for a long time.

* * *

Elena was right, much as Reno hated to admit it. He did feel better now that they had reached land. He still didn't feel great by any means, but he could at least function again. He and Rude had said little to one another since his outburst, as neither man was the type to own up to a mistake. Reno was just that way, and Rude so rarely made a mistake, he didn't have much practice making amends.

The Turks were currently in Costa del Sol, inhabiting a small beachfront bed and breakfast big enough for the four of them, but not for anyone else. Perfect. The proprietors were fine with it as well, as Shin-Ra was paying them a nice rate for the use of their establishment with no questions asked.

Rude had been playing a game of pool, downstairs, when Reno strolled over to him. He raised an eyebrow above his sunglasses.

Reno waved him off. "On the ship, I know. Just fucking forget about it. Over and done with, alright?"

"Then?"

"We're cool," Reno said, simply. "Unless you..."

Rude nodded, stood up straight, then leaned on his pool cue. "We're cool."

Reno stepped forward, grabbing at a cue for himself, as Rude silently racked the balls. Reno leaned forward to take his shot a moment later, but before the tip of his stick had touched the cue ball, something outside the window had caught his eye. "Mother fucker," he muttered, nastily.

Rude turned to look outside.

Hojo. No mistaking him. He was strolling down the street, with a girl on each arm, pasty and sadistic looking as ever, and still in his lab coat from the looks of things. But Rude was only momentarily concerned with that. What he really wanted to know was: what the hell was Hojo doing _here_? Sun and surf, tourists and attractions. Had the former head of the Shin-Ra Science Department _really _fled Midgar for Costa del Sol?

Reno slammed his cue stick down on the table and headed for the door, declaring, with a growl, "I'm gonna string him up by the fucking balls."

Rude had managed to restrain him, though it wasn't such an easy task as one might think. He was all muscle, but Reno was all speed. Rude was a wall, but Reno was lightning-quick. Rude didn't say a word, just held onto his thrashing, swearing, and altogether furious partner until Hojo was out of sight. He just didn't have the words. What was he going to say to Reno? That he'd regret it? The hell he would. That it wasn't worth it? The hell it wasn't. Hojo had been playing god for years. Killing him would most definitely be worth it. Reno just happened to be the latest on the long list of people who deserved to take him out.

Elena's approach -- no doubt she'd heard the commotion -- was the only thing that calmed Reno down. For as much as he wanted at Hojo, he wanted even more not to have to explain himself to her. She'd never let him rest until she knew just why his electro-mag-rod had gone in one of Hojo's ears and out the other.

Feeling Reno stop resisting in his arms, Rude let him go.

"What happened?" Elena asked, breathless, unsure of just what she'd missed, but certain that whatever it was, it was big.

"Not now," Rude said, though he seemed to be addressing Reno, rather than Elena.

"Then when?" Reno hissed.

"Not now," Rude repeated.

Reno angrily straightened his shirt.

"Elena?" Rude looked at the blonde.

"Yes?"

"Tell Tseng we've found Hojo," he instructed her.

"Alright," she agreed, turning and heading to find the Turks' leader. She glanced back for a second. "And you two?"

"Don't worry about us," Rude told her.

She gave a quick, "Mmm hmm," and made her exit. She was beyond curious as to why Reno was so angry, and what, if anything, Hojo had to do with it. But she couldn't worry about it in that moment, she had a message to relay to Tseng.

* * *

Rude didn't say anything, nor did he let on, but he was worried about Reno. It certainly wasn't the first time, but this was different. This wasn't just the result of Reno's inherent recklessness for once. This was unlike any trouble Reno had ever gotten himself into, and that was saying a lot. Because of that, Rude couldn't just shrug it off and tell himself, 'Typical Reno.' He couldn't just let go of it.

Worse yet, he couldn't hold onto it either. Reno snapped at him on the off chance he tried to ask how he was doing. Not to mention what had happened on the ship, or later on in Costa, when Reno had seen Hojo. At best, the redhead would respond to any concern with snarl and roll his eyes, or maybe mutter a "Fuck off," or a "None of your fucking business."

Reno had said little, just stared up at the retreating Shin-Ra helicopter he and Rude had very recently departed, while Rude stared at _him_.

Gongaga was surrounded by a thick forest. Reno and Rude had been dropped off at the edge of the woods and told to see to it that nobody interrupted Scarlet while she "cleaned up" at the old reactor. Nobody, of course, meant Avalanche.

Thanks to Reeve, or Cait Sith, rather, they knew Cloud and his companions had been to the Gold Saucer and were headed for Gongaga next. One of their group was from Cosmo Canyon, and the only way there was past Gongaga.

"This is probably good, yeah?" Reno asked, slowing to a stop and leaning against a tree.

Rude was a step behind him. Approaching him, he shrugged.

Reno yawned. "They better hurry up. I'm fucking tired."

Rude nodded. He was tired too. Hadn't been sleeping incredibly well. He'd already dedicated most of his downtime to thinking about Reno, and how his _condition _was going to effect...well, _everything_ for the time being.

"So..." Reno piped up, sick of the silence. It had only been a few minutes, but that was Reno, restless to no end.

Rude raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

Reno smirked, looking like himself for the first time in several weeks, and called out, "Hey, Rude. Who do you like?"

Rude turned away and shook his head.

Reno used to joke like that a lot. He'd make fun of all the giggly secretaries always gossiping about who was fucking whom, or who wanted to fuck whom, and whatnot. Reno would randomly bat his eyelashes at Rude and ask, "Who do _you_ like, Rude?" Of course, he rarely stopped at that. His voice would get higher with each remark he made, and each remark he made would get cruder and cruder the longer he'd drag it on. One time he'd even put his hair in pigtails and asked his partner if it made him look fat, midway through his merciless mocking.

_"Hey, Rude. What do you make of that new maintenance guy? I think he's pretty dreamy, but he _is _just a janitor."_

_"Hey, Rude. I say he's doing it with that little hussy of an intern. And with a wife at home... what do you think?"_

Obviously, Rude was used to this game of Reno's by now.

When Rude said nothing, Reno continued prodding, asking, "What are you getting so embarrassed about? Come on. Who do you like?"

Rude's posture changed, and he seemed to be watching something in the distance. "...Tifa."

She was a step ahead of those she was traveling with -- Cloud and the Ancient -- and her bust was a step ahead of her.

"Hmm..." Reno murmured, misunderstanding. "That's a tough one."

Rude didn't take his eyes off of Cloud, Tifa and Aeris. They were gaining on him and Reno, but hadn't spotted them yet.

"But poor Elena...she...you..." Reno said, sounding confused.

Rude rolled his eyes, his back still to Reno. It was almost funny the way his partner was misinterpreting things. "No. She likes Tseng," he said, feeling very much like he was stating the obvious.

"I never knew that!" Reno exclaimed.

_How could you not?_ Rude wondered. It was plain as day. And Reno was no slouch. He was damn good at reading people. In fact, he had a real talent for weaseling out of them, that which they'd prefer to keep to themselves. Then again, he was just a little off lately. He had enough of his own shit to deal with.

"But Tseng likes that Ancient," Reno said, almost disgustedly. Something told him that was why his boss was acting the way he was about the whole matter of his pregnancy. _His pregnancy. _He wanted to cringe over the very word, and his association with it.

Rude nodded, and from their reduced distance, he realized Cloud had finally noticed him. Cloud had noticed Reno and Rude, but not Elena, as she stood right behind him.

Seeming quite surprised to see two Turks conversing like human beings, Cloud asked, "What are they talking about?"

"It's so stupid! They always talk about who they like or don't like," Elena informed him, with an eye roll. "But Tseng is different." She paused and gave Rude a look. Time to get to work. Changing her demeanor, she stammered, "Oh no! They're here! They're really here!" and shoved past the trio and over to her comrades.

Reno pushed off the tree he'd been leaning on, and said, "Hmm...then it's time," stoically.

Elena threw Tseng's name out there, saying she'd go on ahead and report to him, and scampered off, headed for what remained of the Gongaga mako reactor.

"Rude," Reno called out, gripping his electro-mag-rod. "Don't go easy on them just because they're girls."

"...don't worry. I'll do my job," Rude assured him, assuming a fighting stance.

The fight hadn't been much more than circling and name calling, with a little bit of shoving. Reno was downright livid when Cloud claimed to have no memory of their encounter at Sector Seven. Only a few punches were thrown, fewer still actually connected, and Aeris eyed Reno suspiciously the entire time. She appeared to be more of a hindrance to her friends than anything, seeming to conveniently get in the way whenever one of them was close to nailing Reno. The battle continued, though, pointless as it looked and felt for all involved, until the sound of chopper blades cutting through the air caught everyone's attention.

Scarlet was done at the reactor. Reno and Rude were off the hook.

Reno looked up at the helicopter and, taking a step back from the fight, said, "We may be retreating, but we're still victorious."

He and Rude weaved in and out of the trees, making their way to the rendezvous point as quickly as they could.

Soon as Reno and Rude were reunited with their comrades, Elena asked, "Are you hurt? Either of you?"

Rude shook his head. "Wasn't much of a fight."

"Yeah, what Rude said," Reno echoed.

"It wasn't intended to be," Tseng murmured, casting Reno a glance.

Reno's response was to roll his eyes and snort. He wouldn't have minded much if it _had_ been a hard-fought battle between him and Rude, and Avalanche. The way he saw it, it was their fault this had happened to him. If they hadn't triple-teamed him -- _after _he set the bomb, no less -- none of this would've happened.

"I had his back," Rude said, exchanging a look with Tseng. He then looked to Reno. "And he had mine."

"Damn right," Reno said.

"You're really okay? You still don't look well. Sometimes these things catch up with you later, you know," Elena pointed out, very much the mother-hen.

"I'm fine, damnit. Quit harassing me."

"Oh, that's nice, Reno. Someone shows concern for you and you accuse them of harassment," Elena grumbled.

"People get too interested in you...shit just gets fucked up," Reno said, softly, in a reflective tone, following the statement with a headshake. He seemed to be talking more to himself than Elena.

Conversation all but ceased, with Reno and Elena out of words for one another, and Rude and Tseng both choosing to keep theirs to themselves. Elena was a fellow Turk, and while keeping her in the dark seemed to go against so-called "Turk ethics," Reno was adamant about it -- he didn't want her to know. He fully intended to have his problem taken care of without Elena ever being the wiser. Tseng had known almost from the get-go -- longer than Reno, in fact -- and Reno had told Rude himself. He hadn't exactly done it in a diplomatic manner, of course, but he had come out and explained things to his partner.

Nobody saw Elena narrow her eyes as she retrieved something from her jacket pocket, nor did they see her press her left palm firmly against her right forearm. It wasn't until a faint yellow glow could be seen seeping through the tiny space between her fingers that Tseng, Reno and Rude knew she'd just armed herself with some sort of materia.

"You don't want to tell me, I'll just see for myself," she remarked, brazenly.

"What the hell?" Reno demanded.

"Sense materia," Rude concluded.

"Where did you get it?" Tseng asked.

"Found it while we were sweeping the reactor." Elena's smug smile faded quickly, her face falling completely. Eyes wide with concern, she nervously called out his name. "Reno...?"

"_What_?" he demanded, in a subdued, but dangerous tone.

"You...you're...that can't be..."

* * *

A/N: Another chapter!(and so fast, too _wink_ ) Like I said before, I'm sorry it's kind of weak. (It's the Gongaga forest part I don't like -- the part where I used most of the in-game dialogue.) I'd still love to hear feedback on it.


	4. Chapter 4

The warnings are listed before chapter one. Still MPREG, still cussing. This installment is a little longer than the others. I feel like I'm being sort of nonspecific with the timeline and I'm sorry if that bothers anyone. (The timeline of the game, more than the pregnancy; I'm finding it a little difficult to coordinate it all.) ;)

Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy VII characters, locations, etc. are all property of Square-Enix. I own nothing, I just do this for fun.

* * *

"So, we all know now," Tseng remarked, eyeing Reno, refined as always.

"Yeah. Damn Elena and her sense materia."

"She didn't mean it. I'm sure the last thing she expected to find inside of _you_ was a human being."

Reno actually laughed at the remark. "Point taken." A moment later, he added, "She ain't the only one."

Tseng looked down. When he looked up again, he was certain to force eye contact with Reno, as he sternly told him, "You need to see someone."

"I need a drink."

"A professional. The sooner the better."

"I need a cigarette."

"I'm sure you can find some way to see that this remains hush-hush. You aren't the first, nor will you be the last of Shin-Ra's privileged to be faced with an unplanned pregnancy."

"_Unplanned?_ That's because I'm a fucking guy!"

"No matter."

Reno shook his head. What the hell was Tseng's deal lately? He was carrying on like this was all perfectly normal. "I'm gonna jump off a fucking bridge," he concluded, deadpan.

"You'll do no such thing. I'd sooner kill you myself," Tseng insisted, his tone void of emotion.

"So do it," Reno challenged. "Least that way I'll be rid of this thing."

* * *

"On the ship, you weren't _seasick_, it was morning sickness!" Elena exclaimed, looking and sounding like she'd just answered the final question right and won her weight in gil -- no, better yet, Rude's weight in gil -- on some game show.

Reno was considerably less amused by it all. He had a headache and he was breaking out. And this was all in addition to that morning sickness.

For the most part, he had done well to avoid Elena, not wanting to face her for some reason. He couldn't quite put his finger on why, but it bothered him to no end that she'd found out about his predicament. The last time they'd talked -- if one could call it that -- the conversation had ended with Reno storming off, angrily giving Tseng and Rude permission to, "Tell her whatever the fuck you want. I don't even care anymore."

The blonde Turk had already seemed to have taken an odd interest in the situation -- a situation Reno just wanted to remove himself from. Or, rather, remove from himself. That was more like it. But that involved telling someone else, and too many people knew already.

Reno peered over Elena's shoulder, as she accessed something on her laptop. "Hell," he said, with a groan, over the mere keywords Elena has used when adding a chosen website to her favorites.

"It's a wonderful resource," she insisted, not missing a beat. "And since _you're _not doing any research on any of this..."

"What the fuck am I gonna research? This isn't exactly normal. What the hell kind of search would I run anyway? Unless you got some "resources" for knocked up _guys_ on there."

Elena furrowed her brow. "No...though I _have _found..." Her voice trailed off and she seemed to blush.

"Found what?" Reno asked, stoically.

Elena cleared her throat. "..._literature_ of that nature."

"What the fuck?"

"Stories."

"True stories?" Reno asked, visibly skeptical, but undeniably curious.

"No, no. Just made up. Quite the cyber community. Apparently, there's something of an audience for it."

"Oh yeah? Who?"

"Oh, mostly just girls."

Reno gave Elena blank look and casually informed her, "I fucking hate your gender." He then turned and walked away.

"I didn't say I condoned it, or that I was part of that demographic." Elena craned her neck to yell at Reno. "Come back here! I'm not done with you!"

"Fuck!" Reno shouted, but didn't turn around.

"What?" Elena asked, springing up out of her chair.

"Damn nosebleed," he grumbled, hand over his freely hemorrhaging nose.

Elena nodded knowingly, and was quick to offer Reno a couple of tissues.

He was equally quick to take them and stuff one up each nostril as he glared at her. "What the hell are you so smug about?" he asked, understandably nasally.

"So typical. You're in your third month, am I right? According to this pregnancy-by-week calendar, it's quite common. First mentioned in week nine, I believe it is."

Reno simply left the room.

Rude had appeared in the doorway a split second after Reno passed through it, blocking Elena from following the redhead. Rude shook his head at her.

Frowning, she stammered a little, "B-but-"

Rude offered another firm headshake. "Leave him alone."

With a sigh, she agreed, "Fine," and returned to her computer.

* * *

A few hours had passed, and Elena decided that no news wasn't always good news, especially where one such as Reno was concerned. Besides, she had since acquired a lengthy list of baby names and wanted to show him. Something she fully intended to do, taking swift steps in the direction of Reno's last known whereabouts. He hadn't gone far. He just needed a little space, or so Rude had insisted. He was perfectly fine.

Well, Reno had had plenty of time to himself as far as Elena was concerned -- something, which Rude had assured her, he needed in addition to all that space. Undoubtedly, his nosebleed had stopped by now. It had been a good three hours, at least. What if it _hadn't _stopped...? Elena's steps became even hastier, until she was halted dead in her tracks.

Reno was on his back, with one arm hanging off the couch, knuckles brushing against the carpet, his other arm across his body, hand open and resting on his still-flat stomach. Head tilted back and resting on the arm of the sofa, tissue still in his nose, mouth hanging open just a bit, eyes _closed._

Elena was overcome with an intense desire to produce an afghan and cover the sleeping Turk, maybe brush his hair out of his face, then quietly tiptoe out the room the way she'd come in. But they were staying right along the coastline, and it had hit ninety degrees before noon. Instead, Elena silently approached the couch and bent over to place the small stack of papers she was cradling on the coffee table. A moment later, though, she'd picked up the papers and taken them with her. She could show it all to Reno some other time.

* * *

"So, where to now, boss?"

"Mideel."

Reno raised an eyebrow. "Avalanche headed for Mideel? Guess that would explain why we haven't heard much of them for the past few weeks," he mused.

"Not quite."

"Then why are we going there? What the hell is in Mideel?"

Tseng smirked slightly. "Someone who will be an asset to you in the coming months. Quite an accomplished doctor by the name of-"

Reno groaned, all but cutting Tseng off. "Don't drag me into your fucking delusions. You can't make me want to do this. You can't make me accept this. Just because it's your precious Ancient's demon spawn taking over my body-"

"Don't, Reno."

"Don't what? Is this all that matters to you? Fine. _Fine_." Reno's last word came out in a hiss, and he nearly lunged at Tseng, roughly taking his hands and forcefully pushing both palms against his body.

It was such a quick, rough gesture that Tseng couldn't feel much of anything. No, that wasn't true. He could _feel _just fine.

With both hands still over Tseng's, and unsatisfied with just pressing them against himself, Reno was now forcing aggressive circular motions.

Tseng jerked away, but not before his brain could register the very slight swell his hands seemed to fit just perfectly around. He knew from Elena's endless research that at this stage, the uterus was "about the size of a grapefruit." Well, that is, in any normal pregnancy. But this certainly wasn't a normal pregnancy. This wasn't a normal pregnancy, and Reno didn't have a uterus. But he did have something of the sort. He had to. It was artificial -- Hojo's handiwork -- but he did have _something_.

"You fucking happy, you stupid fucker?" Reno shouted, drawing Tseng out of his own mind.

Tseng shook his head. "Do I look happy?"

"Do I?" Reno lashed out. "I hate this. I wasn't fucking built for this."

"I know," Tseng said, just as Reno's voice trailed off.

"I can't...I don't know how you think I'm supposed to fucking do this," Reno mumbled, sounding completely and utterly defeated, angrily straightening his shirt.

In that moment, Reno looked so small and helpless. Tseng knew better than most that he was one of the toughest, not to mention feistiest, never-say-die people around, but he still seemed so fragile. He wasn't a big guy by any means -- 5'7" about, though he told everyone 5'9." Tseng wasn't sure what Reno weighed anymore. He used to tip the scales at about 135, give or take. So maybe he was 140 now. He didn't look it. His build hadn't changed much over the past couple of months, save for..._that. _And, Reno was always wearing his shirts baggy and leaving them un-tucked. To the naked eye he hadn't changed a bit, but to the hand...yes, what one _felt_, that was what stood to change the most.

* * *

Things were tense once again, as the quartet made the trip to Mideel. Reno and Tseng didn't talk much, and certainly not to each other. At one point, Reno had taken Rude aside and unsuccessfully attempted to get him to "punch me as hard as you can in the gut, okay?" and he and Elena talked a little now and then, more specifically, when she felt the need to butt into his business.

"Reno," she said, almost sadly, chin resting on her hands -- one of which was holding her fork.

"What?" Reno asked, somewhat snippy, pulling apart his hamburger and flinging the tomato slice over his shoulder, not caring where it landed.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't like tomato."

Elena shook her head. "That's not what I'm talking about."

Tseng and Rude ate in silence.

"I know something's bothering you," Elena insisted, picking at her salad.

"Mmm hmm," Reno muttered.

"And I want to know what that something is."

"I can still taste the tomato. I know it was there," Reno mumbled.

Had the circumstances been different, Tseng would've been amused by poor Elena, trying to use logic with Reno. All he said, however, was, "They have the Keystone. I'm going to pick it up soon."

Three heads nodded, but no one said anything.

"Then it's straight to the temple. Elena and I will go."

Rude nodded, and Reno gave Tseng a bored look.

"The temple isn't far from here. If we need you," Tseng paused, "_Rude_, we'll call for you. Otherwise you're both to stay here."

"Alright," Rude agreed.

Reno scoffed.

All but ignoring his restless subordinate, Tseng said, "I think it's time you were properly examined, Reno."

"Are you insane?" Reno asked.

"No. But I appreciate your concern for my mental state. You've put it off long enough. You need a doctor. Unless you'd like to rely on Hojo now that he's back with Shin-Ra..."

"Don't even." Reno's eyes narrowed at the mention of Hojo's name. "What the hell am I gonna tell this doctor, huh?"

"It will be taken care of." Tseng paused. "By you, or by me. It's your choice."

"Have fun, boss," Reno said, almost grinning, and stood up from the table. "I'm outta here," he muttered, pulling a few bills out of his pocket and tossing them on the table, then turning for the door.

"That went well," Tseng said, softly.

Rude just shook his head. He'd go after Reno in a minute.

"Shouldn't one of us...?" Elena asked.

"In a minute," Rude said.

"Will he be...?"

"He's fine," Rude answered.

"Quite annoyed with me, but fine," Tseng added.

Rude chuckled. "Yeah."

A moment later, he stood up from his seat, paid his share of the bill and exited the cafe in search of his broody partner.

He spotted the redhead at the shore, slouching, as usual, hands in his pockets, staring off into the horizon.

"You think he's really gonna...?" Reno began, somewhat aimlessly. "They're gonna laugh him outta the building. Oh well. Better him than me. Wish I could be there to see it."

"You could."

"Blow me," Reno muttered.

Rude shrugged, and after a short pause, agreed, "Alright."

"You're a freak, Rude," Reno said, feigning disgust, not wanting to admit he was amused.

"I wasn't before I met you."

"I wasn't before Hojo," Reno said, quietly.

"Yeah you were," Rude said.

"Not like this."

"Tseng's just looking out for you."

"Yeah? Well, he should try minding his own fucking business."

Rude nodded. Reno did have a point.

"Elena too," Reno noted.

"They're just looking out for their own. Can't blame 'em for that."

"Sure I can," the redhead muttered. Seeing the look on Rude's face, Reno groaned. "Not you too. Must be bad if _you're_ gonna be up my ass about this. Well, son of a...if it'll get you guys to stop nagging me, then fine. I'll go to the fucking doctor."

"Good."

"Course, I wouldn't have to if you'd just sock me a good one."

Rude chuckled. "Quit asking me to hit you. It's getting harder to resist." The remark earned him a grin from Reno, and it was almost satisfying.

A quiet moment passed, then Reno spoke up. "Hey. When I said 'blow me' and you said 'alright...'"

* * *

"Can I help you?" a high, feminine voice asked. The receptionist it emanated from eyed the four Turks suspiciously.

Tseng nodded. "We need to speak to Dr. Harte. Promptly. Thank you."

She nervously giggled, nodded, and disappeared to the back of the clinic. She returned a moment later, with the doctor a step behind her. He looked to be around fifty, with dark hair, graying at the sides. He wore round lens glasses and a stern expression.

"Follow me," the man said simply, regarding the quartet with at least as much skepticism as his receptionist had.

Tseng obliged, with Elena right behind him, and finally, Reno and Rude. Of course, Rude had a firm grip on Reno's shoulders and seemed to almost be pushing him along, if the sound of his boots scuffing along the hardwood floor was any indication.

"I'm Dr. Harte. It seems you've all come a long way to see me."

"Tseng Tzon," Tseng said, extending a hand. After he and Dr. Harte shook, he pointed to his team one at a time, starting with Elena. "Elena Marshall, Rude Urnar." Pausing, Tseng smirked. "Reno Tarshil."

Dr. Harte nodded his acknowledgment, and said, "Have a seat, please. I can get some more chairs."

Tseng took one of the two chairs in front of the man's desk, and signaled for Reno to take the other. Reno, however seemed to prefer standing at the window, arms crossed and sporting a nasty glare. Rude stood by him.

"It's fine," Tseng assured the doctor. Once he decided he'd given Reno plenty of time to take the other chair, he asked, "Elena?"

She nodded, and eagerly took a seat.

"What do you _all _need?" Dr. Harte asked, sounding slightly skeptical, as he put a little extra emphasis on the word 'all.'

Tseng took a moment. "One of us is in need of your services. We don't trust just anyone with our health, you know. It's of high importance that this all be kept _confidential._"

Tseng's remarked seemed to annoy Dr. Harte. "I'm a professional."

Reno snorted, and Rude nudged him.

"Don't like doctors?" the doctor asked, glancing Reno's way.

"Last one saw me was a fucking nutjob," Reno remarked.

Dr Harte nodded. "Understood. If we could get down to business..."

"Of course." Tseng paused, and deciding Reno really wasn't going to say a word, continued, "How often do you deal with high risk pregnancies?"

"Whenever one comes along, I suppose." The doctor paused and looked to Elena. "I'll need to examine you before we determine anything."

Elena shook her head, and appeared a little flustered. "N-no. Not me..."

"I don't understand," Dr. Harte admitted.

Reno pushed away from where he'd been leaning on the wall, and spoke up. "Told you the last doctor that saw me was a fucking nutjob."

Dr. Harte stood up, and with an annoyed look, said, "I don't know what business you people have here, or what you're after, but whatever you're trying to pull, I won't be the butt of your sick joke."

Reno's response to that was swift, and it involved a slew of swear words and his electro-mag-rod.

Rude was quick to restrain him, and force the weapon out of his grasp before he could do any damage with it.

"You ain't the only one who doesn't like being the butt of someone else's sick joke. I'm outta here. I told you this was a dumbass idea," Reno hissed, breaking free from Rude's hold on him and storming out of the doctor's office.

* * *

"I hope it wasn't too much of an inconvenience for you," Tseng commented. It was the first time he and Reno had spoken since Reno had very reluctantly agreed to let Dr. Harte examine him.

Reno rolled his eyes. "Piss in this cup, bleed in this tube, 'Does it hurt when I press here?' Bullshit. All of it."

Tseng absorbed the statement with a thoughtful nod, and after a long pause, said, "It's your body, it's time I stopped acting like it's up to me what you do with it."

"Everybody's got free reign here, or didn't you know?" Reno muttered.

"That's not true. And I sincerely apologize for my part in making you feel that way. I shouldn't have let my personal feelings cloud my judgment."

Reno sort of scoffed.

"So?" Tseng asked, simply.

"Missed my chance. Bastard says I'm just like any girl. He won't do it past twelve weeks. Not unless my life's in danger."

"You really shouldn't have waited so long to see someone."

Reno shrugged, sort of distantly mumbling, "Wonder if I put up with his shit, play my cards right, if I can change his mind about doing it...?"

Tseng smirked. "I imagine he's thinking the same thing about you."

"You'd do it, wouldn't you? If Hojo had gotten you instead, you'd go through with it," Reno elaborated.

"Who knows..." was Tseng's hushed reply.

"You would. Because it's hers."

"You know me too well, Reno," Tseng admitted.

"You can say that again. So, this is where you order me to do it, isn't it?"

Tseng offered Reno a bittersweet smile. "Something like that."

* * *

A/N: Actually, I have no author's note this time around. Oh wait, I do too. The little pregnancy tidbits are from a calendar of sorts I found at about-dot-com. I'm finding it very useful. I didn't know what to call the doctor, so I gave him my last name. And yes, I'm pretty sure those are the official last names of all the Turks. I went looking and those names kept coming up.


	5. Chapter 5

Summary and warnings are all listed before chapter one. They are, of course, MPREG and dirty words. Lots of dirty words. This fic is mostly a mix of the Turks off the clock, with mention of all their major encounters with Avalanche and whatnot throughout the game. I hope no one minds that I'm not making up a bunch of missions for them to kill all the time in between those in-game encounters. ;)

Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy VII characters, locations, etc. are all property of Square-Enix. I own nothing, I just do this for fun.

* * *

In a small examination room, Reno sat on the bed, arms bent slightly and leaning on his palms, with a bored look on his face.

The door opened and closed a split second later. "Thanks for waiting," was uttered.

Reno shrugged, hardly acknowledging the speaker's entrance.

"I understand how valuable your time is, given your occupation," Dr. Harte continued. Clearly, the man knew a little something about the Turks.

"Just get this over with," Reno told him.

"What do I need from you before we get to business...?" Dr. Harte seemed to be talking to himself, as he produced a disposable thermometer and unceremoniously stuck it in the redhead's mouth.

He received a muffled, "How about a little fucking warning?" in response.

"Would you prefer I took your temperature somewhere else?"

Reno scowled, but said nothing more.

It was silent until the doctor somewhat absently commented, "I'll need another urine sample."

Reno's look of frustration deepened.

"But we can do that on your way out."

Reno rolled his eyes, and as the thermometer was finally taken from his mouth, said, "Oh fucking goodie."

Dr. Harte chuckled, taking note of the redhead's temperature. "Well, if I knew you liked it so much..." He reached for something else. "Blood pressure," he said, simply, moving to wrap the band around Reno's arm.

"What the hell do you need all this piss for anyway?" Reno uncouthly asked, looking at his upper arm as it began to throb. "You don't seem like a fetish kinda guy."

"Quiet now," was the only response. After a moment, Dr. Harte spoke up. "I'll need your consent to tell one of my nurses about you. I'm going to need assistance with the delivery. And, of course, if you should ever need something and I'm not here for some reason..."

Reno glowered at the man, but kept quiet until the band had been removed from his arm. "Don't you talk like that. Don't you talk like I'm going that far."

Dr. Harte shook his head. "I'm going to have to take your blood pressure again on your way out. I guess I'd better not aggravate you in the middle of that. Up, now. I need your weight."

Weighed, told he was underweight, not so much for this point in pregnancy, but just in general, and back on the bed, Reno was still wearing the same bored, annoyed look and leaning on his arms once again. "What now?" he asked.

"I'm going to listen to the baby's heart tones," the doctor explained, pausing for a quick second, then insisting, "You're going to lay back and lift your shirt and let me."

"Trying to get my clothes off," Reno clicked his tongue. "I want a chaperone."

"Do you? Your friend can come in if you'd like."

Rude. He was out in the waiting room. He'd driven Reno to his appointment, thanks to Elena's pleading. She just had to know Reno was keeping up on everything like he should be while she was gone. She didn't quite trust Reno to do it on his own.

"Fuck no, I don't want him in here," Reno said, with a snort, and zero hesitation.

"Then, shall we?"

Reno raised his arms in surrender, doing as he'd been instructed to a moment before, laying back and lifting his shirt to his ribs. He watched Dr. Harte intensely. Whatever device the doctor was going to use to listen to those supposed "heart tones" was fairly small, and Reno noted, both amused and grateful, had headphones. At least he wouldn't have to...

"Do you want to hear?"

Reno simply shook his head. No, he _didn't _want to hear, thank you very much.

"It's your choice." Just as the man seemed ready to get started, there was a knock on the door. "Excuse me," Dr. Harte told Reno, turning away from him.

"Take your time," Reno assured him, eyes twinkling dangerously, as he put his shirt down and sat up.

Dr. Harte opened the door slightly, asking, "Can I help you?"

"I need to talk to him," Rude said, simply.

Dr. Harte looked back at Reno, seeking his approval to let Rude in, and saying, "Come in," when Reno gave a nod.

"What?" Reno asked his partner.

Rude stared straight forward, arms locked behind his back.

Understanding Rude's tight-lipped behavior, the doctor said, "I'll be outside. We can finish up in a moment."

Once he was out of the room, Reno asked, "What the hell, Rude?"

"Distress call."

"What?"

"Yeah."

"Elena?" Reno asked.

"Tseng."

Neither man said anything for a moment. While it was unlikely, a distress call from Elena could be the result of the rookie being spooked on her first big mission. However, under no circumstances was a distress call from Tseng to be taken lightly.

"I gotta go," Rude said.

"I'm going with you," Reno insisted, standing up.

"The hell you are."

"The hell I'm not. Try and stop me."

"I don't have time for this," Rude muttered, annoyed, turning away from Reno and heading for the door.

"That's right," Reno agreed, a half-step behind him. "So, unless you think you can reason with me, you're gonna have to stop me with force."

"There is no reasoning with you," Rude said, as if either he or Reno needed to be reminded of that. He exited the exam room.

Reno, of course, followed him. As the door closed behind him, he said, "Exactly." He looked to Dr. Harte, who was very clearly expecting an explanation. "Sorry, doc, but I'm gonna have to take a rain-check. I'll piss in _two _cups for you next time."

* * *

Elena didn't so much as look back as the chopper landed dangerously close to her location. She was off in her own world. She sort of rocked, legs bent in the shape of an 'M,' fists pressed into the ground, not caring that she was soaked to the bone when Reno and Rude approached her. She'd be sore later; it was anybody's guess how long she'd been sitting there like that, or how long it had been raining on her. She shivered and choked on her sobs, and her suit was covered in blood and dirt kicked up from Rude's landing. What little shelter there was from the elements now that the temple was gone, Elena had surrendered to her boss, his still form laid out neatly before her.

Tseng looked dead...no, he looked _worse _than dead, if that was possible. He wasn't bleeding anymore. He wasn't breathing anymore.

Elena's teeth chattered and her eyes twitched, her body shaking from both the cold and her crying.

"What the hell happened?"

Elena didn't even look back.

"_Elena_," Reno called her name, sternly. "I asked you what happened."

"He just...I wasn't there when...he was...it had already happened when I found him. He was bleeding too much. I didn't know what to do, so I just...Cloud..."

"Cloud?" Reno asked, his fury threatening to boil over. "_Cloud _did this to him?"

Elena shook her head. "I don't know, really. He just...he just said Cloud had the Keystone."

Rude was leaning over Tseng by then, futilely checking his vitals. "No pulse. He's not breathing."

"It's my fault..." Elena began to sob once more. "I didn't know what else to do!" she shouted, her tone full of regret and painful to the ears.

"What are you talking about? What did you do, Elena?" he asked, suspiciously.

Rude met his gaze and shook his head. Reno dropped it.

The redhead put a hand on Elena's shoulder, trying to still her swaying form, and gently murmured, "Come on. Let's get you both outta here."

Elena offered a weak nod and made her way to her feet. She seemed wobbly as Reno put an arm around her and led her to the helicopter.

Rude bent over and picked Tseng up, carefully carrying him in both arms, rather than slinging the man over his shoulder. He was heavier that way, but Rude would do the respectful thing. This was someone he deeply admired after all. He wouldn't go carrying him like a sack of feed.

* * *

It was a quiet flight from what used to be the Temple of the Ancients to Mideel, and the commute from the airbase back to the beach house the Turks were currently "renting" was equally silent.

Rude was driving, and speeding, as he often did. Reno was in the front passenger seat next to him, leaning back against the headrest and seeming deep in thought. Elena had taken the back, and was sitting deathly still, Tseng's head on her lap, as he was splayed across the seat. Her chin length hair was a damp, clumpy mess, her wet jacket and shirt lay crumpled on the floor at her feet, and she had Rude's jacket wrapped around her shoulders. She'd been so distraught she hadn't made the slightest objection to Reno peeling her then dripping blue blazer from her shivering body and unbuttoning and removing her blouse, leaving her in only her bra. He'd done it without even a hint of an ulterior motive, though, and Rude was quick to swoop in and offer his own jacket to preserve his colleague's modesty.

* * *

Reno handled everything without a second thought. For the next two days, it seemed, he wasn't seen without his phone to his ear, and a pen in hand, nodding and mm hmm-ing as he jotted something down.

Reno's response to what had happened with Tseng was to constantly busy himself. He had claimed -- in a very stream-of-consciousness sort of way -- it was because he had been the Turks' second-in-command, and when you were second-in-command, it was just the way of things that you assumed the role of first-in-command, if something ever happened to your first-in-command. Reno almost seemed like himself for a moment, when he decided he needed to elaborate even further, and compared it all to the Miss Midgar oath: _"Should the reigning Miss Midgar ever be unable to fulfill her duties as Miss Midgar, the first-runner-up will assume the title of Miss Midgar..."_

Rude wondered how Reno seemed to know the entire speech, but he said nothing, he just savored the few moments of normalcy the present had given him.

Elena, who was typically a very co-dependent creature, an advocate of teamwork, and companionship, had all but isolated herself from Reno and Rude, emerging from her room only to shower and eat a little every now and then. For someone who seemed to be sleeping all the time, she was the portrait of exhaustion. Distraught or not, grieving or not, Elena was in sad, sad shape. She'd completely lost her zest for life, it seemed -- her charm, her curiosity, her eagerness, her undying willingness to learn from her mistakes, no matter how few or how many. Everything about her that Reno, Rude and Tseng had all been drawn to in the first place.

Rude played the silent observer. It was what he did best. Always the type to go unnoticed, a problem he'd solved always went away quietly, and was forgotten -- it never went out with a bang. He was like the aspirin you took for a bad headache, because it was there, and it was reliable. Wasn't flashy, and you didn't notice when it started working, rather, you just thought back on your headache later and wondered when it had gone away. At least, that was how the big man thought of himself. He didn't mind flying under the radar. Being noticed had never been a priority for him. Getting the job done, that was what mattered to him.

Rude had long since realized he was the kind of person whose absence was noticed more than his presence. Despite that, he decided it was time he stepped in and helped his friends sort everything out. Without them realizing how much thought he'd put into it, of course.

"How's it goin'?" he asked Reno, taking a seat next to him.

"Waiting for a call, then I might _almost_ be done," Reno replied.

The two men looked back, hearing Elena's approach. She mumbled a "Don't mind me," as she shuffled by.

Rude smirked a little, earning him a questioning glance from Reno, as the redhead put his PHS to his ear, prepared to make another call. "You reschedule your doctor's appointment yet?" the bald man asked.

Elena's shuffling ceased and she looked back at Reno. "You canceled an appointment?"

Reno glared at Rude and mouthed, "_Prick_."

"Why, Reno?" Elena asked, sadly.

"I didn't cancel, I walked out in the middle of it."

Elena's eyes widened. They were bloodshot, and the circles beneath them were so dark that she looked like a raccoon, and a rabid one at that.

"Wait, wait. It's not what it sounded like."

"Then why don't you explain it to me slowly and let me decide-"

"There really ain't much more to it," Reno said, with a shrug.

Elena crossed her arms. "You need to prioritize, Reno." she said, insistently. "I think you can spare an hour every now and then to ensure that my little goddaughter is perfectly healthy."

Reno sniggered, and Rude did as well, though he was considerably more subdued. "Your _who?_" Reno asked, in utter disbelief. "Okay, okay, first off: what the hell has you so convinced I'm going through with this? Second: what is this goddaughter bullshit?"

"Who else do you have to appoint her godmother? As far as it being a girl, call it a hunch. Godmother's intuition."

"Ah, hell," the redhead mumbled, with a groan. "Rude, help me out."

"You can't avoid this, Reno. Canceling-" Elena began, only to be cut off by Reno.

"I told you, I didn't cancel, I walked out."

"That's even worse."

This was more like it, Rude mused. This was how Reno and Elena were supposed to act around each other.

"The distress call sort of interrupted things, alright? Wasn't a lot I could do, you know?" Reno pointed out.

Elena looked down at the floor, pulling her robe tightly around her chest. "Sorry."

Too good to be true, Rude thought to himself.

Before either Elena or Reno could say anything more, Reno's PHS rang. Rude and Elena watched as he had a very brief conversation with someone.

"Yeah, fine," he muttered into the phone, before quickly pressing the 'end' button and flipping it shut. He looked to his partners, wasting no time telling them, "We got a week to take Tseng home to Wutai. It's what he would've wanted."

"A week in Wutai?" Elena echoed.

Reno shook his head. "No. A week to get there, make arrangements for him, and get back to work. We're all still on-call for the whole week."

"That's bullshit," Rude said, showing more anger than he typically did.

"Yeah, well," Reno paused for a second, before stating, "that's Shin-Ra."

* * *

A/N: I'm _still_ haunted by the lameness of this chapter. I'm really sorry. Something just seems wrong about it; I'll rewrite it if and when I figure out what that something is. I still love reviews, though. And I know I've got the doc doing a lot of stuff a nurse would normally do, but that's because he's the only one who knows what's going on with Reno.


	6. Chapter 6

The warnings remain the same: MPREG and Reno's dirty mouth, and a very quick (joking) reference to unrequited Rufus/Tseng and crossdressing. I'm using _some_ of the in-game dialogue once again, but I've alternated it with my own stuff and changed the scenes a bit. Not my best chapter, I know, and the hit counter confirms it, LOL. For some reason this one has way fewer hits than all the other chapters. I am sorry, though.

EDIT: Thanks for the heads up about the ruler line, serendipitousvixen, it was omitted by mistake.

Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy VII characters, locations, etc. are all property of Square-Enix. I own nothing, I just do this for fun.

* * *

It was the Turks' second day in Wutai. They had gotten the "shitty, responsible, obligatory stuff" done the previous day, leaving them with the better part of a week to spend however they chose. They were currently occupying a table right in the middle of the Turtle's Paradise. The atmosphere was a little too much like a funeral reception for Elena, as Reno and Rude had been reminiscing about the old days with Tseng, talking mostly about things that happened long before her time.

Needless to say that when the waitress came by and asked if anyone needed a refill, she wasted no time raising her glass.

"Someone's hittin' the sauce early today," Reno muttered.

"And for once it's not you," Rude remarked.

"Touché," Reno said, with a smirk. He glanced up from his plate and over at Elena. "Better slow down or you'll get sick."

"I'm fine," she insisted, shortly, stirring at what little remained of her drink, as she was still waiting on her refill.

"I'm just saying..."

"I'm fine," Elena repeated. "Like you're one to talk," she added, a second later, watching as Reno doused a generous helping of fried shrimp in chocolate syrup. She certainly wouldn't be able to keep _that_ down. Sure, Reno had been looking quite a bit better, almost...did she dare think it...? _Glowing_. But still...

Reno gave a submissive little gesture, as he put the bottle of syrup down. "Fine, I won't get in your face about it."

It was silent for a moment, Elena still agitatedly stirring half-melted ice cubes around, waiting on a fresh drink, Rude much more casually enjoying his beer, and Reno swirling various sauces together on his plate -- the chocolate being only _one _of them -- with a fried shrimp.

Biting into the shrimp, he looked to Rude and asked, "Hey, Rude, you remember the costume ball?"

Rude chuckled and nodded. "Yeah."

Losing to her curiosity, Elena sighed and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Ah, it was probably about three years ago. Old man Shinra decided for his annual 'I own the world' soiree that he wanted it to be a costume party. He offered prizes for best costume. Tseng must've wanted it _bad_. What was the prize again, Rude? You remember?"

"Not anymore," Rude replied. "But his costume..."

Both men laughed, and Reno seemed to be drawing little sauce pictures on his plate now, using a shrimp as a brush.

"What was his costume?" Elena asked, sounding decidedly less broody than just a few moments before.

"Hottest damn girl I've laid eyes on, maybe ever."

Elena's eyes widened. "What?"

"Yeah," Reno confirmed. "I hit on him for a good hour before he came clean. I was laying it on pretty thick, offering to take him home-"

"Asking what a pretty girl like him was doing working for Shin-Ra," Rude interjected.

The server returned with Elena's drink, and was thanked.

Taking the straw between her thumb and index finger, Elena looked to Reno. "You didn't!"

"Oh yeah. I did. Grabbed his ass at one point, too."

"Reno!"

"Yeah, that's when things went sour for me. Tseng just spun around and said he'd have me fired for sexual harassment. Couldn't believe it."

Rude looked down into his beer mug almost thoughtfully, and quietly mused, "He was really pretty."

Elena gave him a funny look, but didn't say anything.

Reno shook his head, and agreed, "Damn straight. Anyway, after that..."

"They got me," Rude deadpanned.

Reno cackled, eating another chocolate syrup, cocktail sauce, ketchup and mustard covered shrimp and informing Elena, "Yeah, it was great."

"You should've warned me," Rude said. "Then again, I should've known something was up if you were just passing this gorgeous woman off to me."

Elena was grinning from ear to ear. It was due in part to the alcohol, but her mood had improved considerably. "No way! Oh, this is too good!"

"Yeah. They double-teamed me," Rude told her.

"That was as much his idea as mine," Reno insisted.

"I bet."

"How long did it go on before you knew?"

"Long enough," Rude said, looking down.

"You couldn't have done anything worse than Reno," Elena pointed out.

"No. More embarrassing for me, yeah, but no worse," Rude agreed, albeit slightly hesitantly.

"He asked Tseng out," Reno chimed in. "You know, on a real date. Asked for his number."

"And he gave it to me. That's when I knew it was him," Rude explained.

Elena giggled, and Reno and Rude smiled, satisfied she'd found their story enjoyable.

"Hell, that was fun," Reno said. "I think Rufus was the only guy there who wasn't all over Tseng."

"Huh?" Elena asked.

"Come on, Elena. You know Rufus is...well, you know he bats for the other team, right?" Reno asked, having trouble believing Elena hadn't figured that out about their dear company president.

"I...really?"

"Yeah." Reno chuckled, then assured her, "Really."

"That was probably the one time he _wasn't _all over Tseng, actually," Rude said, quietly.

Before Elena could try to defend her naivety, and apparent lack of gay-dar, the door to the pub swung open and she, Reno and Rude all glanced over to see just who thought they needed to make such a flashy entrance.

The blonde was seeing red, as Cloud headed for the bar. He was armed, and looked frustrated. He hadn't even noticed the Turks. The _nerve_ of him not noticing them. So what if they weren't there on business. They were Turks.

Elena sprung up from her seat, grabbing at Cloud's arm. "You!"

Cloud turned to face her, and looked down at the small hand on his arm with contempt.

"How did you get here?" she demanded.

Wrenching his arm from her grip, he turned, all but prepared to ignore her.

"Never mind that," she insisted, sounding as if she were at her breaking point. "I guess it's fate that brought us together. Get ready to die."

Reno glanced at Cloud, rolling his eyes at him, then addressed Elena, telling her, "Sit down."

"What?" she asked, in disbelief. "Sit down? _Sit down?_"

"What are we here for?" he asked her, simply.

Elena looked down at the floor. "We're here to..." She pouted, not wanting to finish the statement.

"So sit down."

"Hmm. You're lucky, alright. Now get out of my sight," Elena muttered, disgustedly, at Cloud, reclaiming her seat next to Reno and across from Rude.

She was so busy sulking she hardly heard the desperation in Cloud's voice as he asked the man behind the bar, "Do you know a girl named Yuffie? She's about sixteen, short black hair. I thought I saw her come this way. She took something of mine."

Elena picked up her drink and took a generous swig. She was through being ladylike.

Neither of her companions made a comment about it, Reno merely said, "What a killjoy."

"...so-rry," she mumbled, defeated.

Without warning, two Shin-Ra guards entered, immediately taking notice of the Turks, one of them quick to spout off some nonsense about using them for back-up.

Reno sighed, and looking annoyed, told the soldier, "Right now we're off duty and can't run off to save your butts."

The soldier shook his head, and somewhat guiltily admitted, "We know you're off duty, but..."

"Then get the hell outta my face."

"But you all have orders from headquarters to look for _him _too!" the soldier shouted. "Alright, that's it. We'll get him without any help from the Turks, just you see."

Once he and his companion were out of the pub, Reno went back to his food, commenting, "You do that, you overeager little prick."

"Reno," Elena called out, giving the redhead a scolding look, "do you think that was really such a good idea? I mean, is that the way a professional, a _Turk _would act?"

Reno met Elena's gaze, and very seriously told her, "Elena, don't misunderstand. A pro isn't someone who sacrifices himself for his job." He paused. "That's just a fool."

"Rude?" she asked, hopefully.

Rude said nothing.

"Some leader you're shaping up to be, Reno," Elena muttered, clearly disappointed in both him and Rude. She stood up and headed for the door.

Rude gave Reno a look.

He shrugged it off. "Relax. She's not a child. Let her have her way now."

* * *

It had been quite some time since Reno and Rude had seen or heard anything of Elena. Long enough that the duo was starting to wonder if she hadn't gotten herself into some kind of trouble. Her eagerness had proven to be both a strength and a weakness.

Outside the pub, and headed north, Reno and Rude spotted Cloud once again. He wasn't alone this time, but was walking along, agitatedly, with two Reno and Rude immediately recognized. Barret Wallace, who had been a thorn in Shin-Ra's side for too long, and Cid Highwind, who they'd met briefly when the space program was still up and running. Reno sped up, with Rude alongside him. When he figured he was close enough to be heard, he whistled, and called out, "Yo, Strife!"

Cloud looked back.

"You used to run with a much hotter crowd, Strife," Reno remarked.

Cloud glared at Reno, but said nothing.

"Just sayin'."

"Aeris is...not here..." Cloud's voice faded out. Stopping himself from saying anything more about Aeris's absence, he added only, "Corneo's got Yuffie, and Yuffie's got...everything."

"Corneo?" Reno asked. "The Don's got your girl?"

Cloud nodded, and took a moment to think things over. He finally looked up and said, "He's got Elena, too."

Reno actually looked shocked for moment, but was quick to regain his composure. "Let's go, Rude. We'll give him a taste of what the Turks can do."

Rude nodded, and stepped out in front of Reno. "I'll go ahead."

"Sounded pretty good," he said, with a slight chuckle. But he wasted no time turning serious. "If Elena's in his hands, that's gonna make things a little difficult. And uh..."

Understanding the redhead's meaning -- he wanted to call a momentary truce -- Cloud agreed, "Okay. Corneo took Yuffie from us," he repeated. "And without Yuffie, there's no way to get our materia back."

"Yeah, the no good, thievin' little-" Cid muttered.

Reno cackled a little. "So you got jacked, eh?"

Cloud frowned and gave Reno a dangerous look.

Matching his expression, Reno warned him. "Don't misunderstand. We have no intention of joining you. But for now, we'll agree not to bother each other. That's all."

Cloud looked at both Barret and Cid, then back at Reno and said, "That's fine. We have no intention of cooperating with the Turks either."

* * *

Rude looked back casually as Reno approached him.

"Been waiting long?" Reno asked, hushed, nearing his partner.

Rude shook his head. "Few minutes."

"How'd you know it was me?"

"I can always hear you coming," Rude replied.

Reno batted his eyelashes. "Oh, Rude."

Rude rubbed at his temples. "You got a sick mind, man."

Reno raised his eyebrows and flashed a big grin. He turned serious a second later and asked, "What'd I miss?"

"He's got 'em both tied up," Rude answered, nodding his head in the direction of the mountainside where Corneo had both Elena and Yuffie strung up.

"No shit. I can see that," Reno said, his sarcasm obvious. "They okay?"

"Seem to be."

"Good. Then I guess we better get Elena down from there," Reno commented, taking a step forward.

"Hang on," Rude told him.

Both men watched as Cloud, Cid and Barret approached Corneo.

"Fuck. They better not..."

"Which shall it be?" Corneo asked, almost thoughtfully. "Hmm...hmm..."

"He- hey! I'm one of the Turks! Don't you think you can get away with this!" Elena shouted, absolutely furious.

"Think she's getting a little impatient," Reno guessed.

"You think?" Rude asked, deadpan, not moving, but also not taking his eyes off of Elena, or the Don as he gyrated his hips before her and Yuffie.

"Oh, fuck. Fucking stop shaking your shit. That's disgusting," Reno grumbled. "That's it-"

"Hang on," Rude repeated his statement of a moment before, more firmly this time around.

"What the hell for?" Reno demanded, in an angry whisper.

Cloud, Cid and Barret seemed seconds away from confronting the Don.

"We all rush him, he might hurt Elena."

Reno frowned, and sighed. Rude was right.

Corneo fell to one knee, raised both arms to the sky and called out, "Rapps! Come here!"

"_Rapps_?" Reno wondered, and when the creature swooped down in front of the Don, he let out an exasperated, "What the fuck is that thing?"

Cloud, Cid and Barret each assumed their fighting stance, and Barret made quick work of "Rapps," shooting it out of the sky without a moment's hesitation.

Looking utterly distraught that his "pet" had been killed, Corneo pleaded, "Wait! Just wait a second!"

"Shut up!" Cloud shouted.

"Just listen to me. It won't take long," Corneo insisted. Dejectedly, he continued, "Why do you think a bad guy like me would swallow his pride and plead for his life?" With nothing more than several annoyed glares as encouragement to continue, Corneo said, "Because he's ready to die? Because he's sure to win? Because he's clueless?"

"I don't care," was Cloud's answer.

A look of fury in his eyes, Corneo spun Elena and Yuffie on their heads. Seeing the shock on Cloud's face, he told him, "If I push this button, they'll fall." He nodded, and chuckled. "I guess I'm the one laughing last."

Reno stepped forward. "No, that would be us."

"The Turks!"

Smoothly, Reno said, "You knew this was gonna happen ever since you leaked that secret. We're gonna take care of you..._personally_."

"Damn it," Corneo spat. "Then they're all goin' with me!" he declared.

Before he could make another move, though, he took a bullet in the shoulder and nearly fell from the side of the DaChao to his death.

Reno glanced at his partner and complimented him. "Good timing, Rude."

Rude nodded as he put his gun -- obviously equipped with a silencer -- back in its holster and buttoned his jacket.

Reno strolled to the edge of the DaChao and looked down at Corneo. "Alright, Corneo. This'll be over quick, so listen up." He stepped on the Don's fingers. "Why do you think we went to all the trouble of teaming up with those guys to get you? Because we were ready to die? Because we were sure of victory? Because we were clueless?"

The Don grimaced and groaned, nodding frantically. "Two...number two?"

"All wrong," Reno said, tonelessly.

"No! Wait! Stop-"

Reno lifted his foot, and leaned forward to watch Corneo plummet to his death. "The correct answer was..."

Rude stepped up beside him. "...because it's our job."

Red-faced from being hung on her head, and probably because she was somewhat drunk as well, somehow Elena was smiling, as she happily shouted, "Oh, thank you very much! I never expected you to come help!"

"Don't act so weak," Reno said, sternly, but gave her a smirk. "You're a Turk."

"Yes sir," she said, simply.

Rude got in close enough to untie the girls (Elena first, of course) offering each his hand as they stepped down. Yuffie didn't so much as thank him, just rejoined her party, opposite the Turks. Rude and Elena looked to Reno as his PHS rang.

He didn't say much and the conversation was over as soon as it had begun, it seemed.

"Was that...?" Elena asked.

Reno nodded. "Yeah. They want us to find Cloud."

"Are we on...?" Rude asked.

Reno almost smiled as he said, "No, today we're off duty."

* * *

Elena's muffled sobs could be heard, despite how hard she was trying to be quiet about it all. She was sitting at the edge of her bed, head in her hands, bare feet just touching the hardwood floor, tears slipping through the space between her fingers and hitting the lace trim of her chemise and her exposed thighs. Initially, she'd laid down for bed, feeling exhausted, after the day she, Reno and Rude had just had, but she couldn't sleep. She stared out the window, up at the ceiling, at the wallpaper, at her own eyelids, but all she saw was Tseng. She'd thrown the covers off and sat up when her nose stuffed up from all the crying and she couldn't breathe. She just couldn't force the image from her memory, of him slumped against a pillar inside the Temple of the Ancients, pale and bloody, telling her not to worry about him. Telling her to get out while she could, and that Cloud had already used the Keystone, so there was nothing more they could do. She'd told him not to move, and demanded to know who'd done it to him, fumbling with her materia, trying to think of some way to help him.

"I should've done more..." she murmured, during a short break between weeps.

"It's over."

Elena looked up at the shirtless, boxer-clad man in her doorway. "Did I wake you?" she asked, pathetically.

Rude shook his head and slowly neared her. "Doesn't matter."

"I should've closed the door all the way," she paused, shuddering a little. "Sorry."

Rude sat down on the bed next to Elena, but didn't say a word.

"I didn't do enough," she whispered.

"Today?"

"No," Elena whispered.

"Tseng?" Rude asked.

She nodded.

"Nothing else you could've done."

"Or maybe I did too much...? Did the wrong thing...?" Elena wondered, sighing, then sniffling.

"Don't question yourself."

Rude and Elena both looked to the entryway where Reno was now standing, dressed in a plain white t-shirt and boxer shorts, looking even sleepier and more disheveled than usual.

Elena shook her head, ruefully. "I woke you too?" She immediately felt guilty.

He cocked his head to the side. "Elena."

"Don't act so weak, I know. I'm sorry."

"I never would've thought to do what you did," Reno told her, absently bringing a hand to his belly -- a gesture Elena was too distraught to notice.

"No, you'd have come up with something better," she said, hushed, but bitterly.

"Quit beating yourself up. Stop spell. That was really clever."

"What was I thinking?" Elena asked herself, horrified.

"You were thinking you needed to stop the bleeding."

"But I- I stopped his heart, and his breathing. I stopped _everything!_"

"He'd have died from those injuries if you hadn't cast the spell. He wouldn't have lasted more than a few minutes," Reno insisted.

"And now? What about now?" Elena demanded.

Rude nodded, thoughtfully. "He's home now."

Elena gave a little headshake, acknowledging Rude's statement. It wasn't very comforting, but it was fitting. And that was the best she could hope for.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, Rude _shot_ the Don, with a silenced pistol, no less, because, well, I still haven't figured out what he hit him with in the game. Looks like he shot a spit wad out of a straw to me. And that makes Rude so uncool...he's so not a spit wad and straw kinda guy. Reno, maybe. But Rude? Review, please and thanks. You know I'd love that.


	7. Chapter 7

Some of the scenes are really short this time around. Hope it all reads okay. Still MPREG and there's still cursing.

Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy VII characters, locations, etc. are all property of Square-Enix. I own nothing, I just do this for fun.

* * *

Elena looked down, dejectedly, tucking away her PHS. "Heidegger wants my report in person."

Reno and Rude exchanged a glance, before looking at Elena.

She sighed, and continued, "He wants to know exactly what went on at the Temple of the Ancients."

"Understandable," Rude said.

"Yeah. It isn't every day a Turk gets-" Reno mused, but was cut off by a stern look from Rude. "Yeah, it's understandable."

"Do you think he'll fire me? Or demote me? Or maybe there'll be a hearing."

"Nah, no way," Reno assured her.

"You're just saying that. But he could..."

"He won't," Rude insisted. "He's kept Reno around all these years."

"Hey!"

Rude rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. "Don't even pretend, Reno."

Reno scoffed, but made no real move to contradict Rude.

"I wish I was going back to Mideel with you two. I guess I'll see you there after my meeting with Heidegger."

"What are you talking about?" Reno asked. "We're going to Midgar with you."

Elena's shock was written all over her face. "What?"

"We're going to Midgar with you," Reno repeated.

Elena smiled, sadly. "That's sweet, but you don't have to."

"You're a Turk," Rude told her, stoically. A second later, he added, "We're coming with you."

* * *

On the morning of her meeting with Heidegger, Rude showed up to Elena's apartment building at about 7:30AM, with a sleepy, scowling and "fucking starving" Reno in tote. If the redhead's constant complaining about how hungry he was wasn't bad enough, he'd thrown a pretty good fit in his own apartment, tossing clothing left and right, shouting about how none of it fit him right anymore. Rude was only sympathetic to a point. He'd just had enough of his partner's ranting for one morning.

Reno started to open his mouth, but Rude cut him off, stating, "We'll hit the damn drive-thru on the way to work, damn it. And you can go shopping for some new pants. Shut up already," as he knocked on Elena's door.

"Geez, you don't have to be so mean about it," Reno said, with a pout. He looked so genuinely sad that Rude did a double take.

"I'm not being- it's just, you've been bugging me about it the whole way over. I'm sick of hearing it."

"I'm sick of being hungry. Sick of my clothes not fucking fitting me. Sick of..." Reno got a positively nasty look on his face, and hissed, "_all of_ _this._"

Rude knocked again, louder, faster, and with a bit more urgency.

The door finally opened, and Reno and Rude were greeted by the sight of Elena wrapped in a towel.

Reno, his mood doing a complete 180, whistled at his colleague and winked.

"Oh, stop," she said, already sounding frazzled. "I'm running a little behind. Come on in. Make yourselves at home. I just have to-"

"Put some clothes on?" Reno asked, as he squeezed his way between Elena and Rude, headed for the kitchen.

Elena frowned. "Yes. I said I was running a little behind."

"Take your time," Rude assured her, sitting down on her couch, and reaching for the remote control.

"Hey! Elena! What've you got to eat around here?" Reno shouted, aimlessly. "Rude's trying to fucking starve me."

"Take whatever you want, Reno!" was the reply shouted back.

Reno began digging through Elena's cupboards. He tossed several food items onto the counter. He looked back at Rude. "Look at this shit. Low fat potato chips, rice cakes, fat free peanut butter..." Reno exaggerated a gag. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

Rude chuckled, but was quick to turn serious again. "Don't be a jerk, man. Can't you tell she's nervous about meeting with Heidegger?"

"Skirt or pants?" Elena asked, somewhat frantically, as she stumbled through the living room and into the kitchen still wrapped in her towel.

"Skirt," Reno and Rude both assured her, simultaneously.

Reno ripped open the bag of rice cakes and bit into one. He grimaced, as he stood up and headed for the refrigerator.

"Heels or flats?"

"Heels," was the unanimous answer.

With his head inside Elena's refrigerator, Reno asked, "Why do you hate real food?"

"I don't hate real food!" Elena insisted.

"Nonfat this, multi-grain that, you've got fucking tofu in here. You hear that, Rude? _Tofu_. That's so wrong. Hey, hot sauce!"

Rude and Elena both smiled over Reno's actions, but neither said anything. They just exchanged a knowing look.

"Well, I should-" Elena began.

"Why _do_ you hate real food?" Rude asked.

Elena let out a little gasp. "I don't!" she insisted. Before she could elaborate, something had caught her attention. "Reno, what _are _you making?"

"Sandwich," Reno replied, casually.

"You call that a sandwich?" Rude asked, eyeing the counter space Reno had taken over.

Reno just nodded. He'd decided to use two rice cakes as "bread," had applied a thick layer of peanut butter to one of them, smashed a handful of Elena's low fat chips into the peanut butter, and put hot sauce on top of it. He slapped it all together and took a bite. Seeing the disgusted, but curious looks Rude and Elena gave him, he muttered, "Not a fucking word."

Elena tried to shake the image from her head, turning sharply and moving toward her bedroom to finish getting dressed.

Rude pretended to be interested in something on TV. He purposely turned the volume up, nearly blasting _Good Morning, Midgar_ throughout Elena's apartment just to drown out Reno's crunching.

It was going to be one of those days for all of them.

* * *

Despite the way their morning had begun, the three Turks were the image of professionalism, making their way through the lobby of the Shin-Ra tower and to the elevators. Elena hit the call button, and was first inside the lift when it arrived. It wasn't long before the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

"Good morning," a nervous, mousy looking girl in a lab coat said, shyly stepping inside. She squeezed between Reno and Rude. "Sixty seven, please."

Elena looked nervous, as the elevator made its ascent. She seemed to be whispering to herself, and nodding, not-so-silently practicing what she was going to say to Heidegger and whoever else he'd invited to the Conference Room to watch her give her report. Rude was stoic as ever. Reno's eye was twitching, and he looked almost sick with anger. The mousy girl just wanted to be out of the elevator and away from the scary and seemingly mentally unstable Turks.

When the lift reached the 67th floor, she very quickly stepped out. Reno leaned his head out the elevator door, curiously. Rude and Elena both looked confused. He wasn't checking her out, was he? She seemed a little _homely _to be his type. Popping his head back inside the lift, Reno ran both hands along the panel, pressing nearly every button. Without a second's hesitation, he slipped between the doors just before they closed, leaving Rude and Elena in a state of confusion once again.

"Reno!" Elena shouted. She looked to Rude. "What is he thinking? What does he think he needs in the lab?"

Rude cursed himself, for not figuring it out sooner. "The lab. Hojo."

"He wouldn't..." Elena said, meekly.

"The hell he wouldn't. Damn him," Rude muttered, then punched the elevator door.

When the elevator stopped somewhat randomly on the 51st floor, Rude was quick to step out. He looked back at Elena and when she tried to follow him, he told her, "No."

"But-"

"Go give your report. I'll get Reno. We'll meet you in the lobby."

Elena nodded, though her heart wasn't in it, watching the elevator doors close.

* * *

Three Shin-Ra privates saluted Reno as he made his way past them, that much closer to Hojo's lab. They recognized the suit, and knew better than to question what a Turk was doing visiting Professor Hojo.

"You," Hojo said simply, looking Reno up and down.

"Recognize your handiwork, eh?" Reno asked, his tone bordering on psychotic.

"You mean, you're still...I figured it was all over once you got away. I never would have left Shin-Ra if I'd known. Well then, now I can pick up where I left off." Hojo clicked his tongue. "Shame I've missed so much. I suppose I could always do it to someone else, someone less resourceful, who won't resist. Then I can compare notes and..."

"You fucking-" Before Reno could get another word out, he saw Hojo raise a hand and he was surrounded by the soldiers he'd passed entering the lab. "What the-"

"Gentlemen, I'm sure you all know Reno," Hojo began, pleasantly. His eyes flashed, making him look every bit the insane torturer he was, and in a flat tone, he instructed the soldiers, "Now restrain him."

"You keep your fucking hands off me, I'm a fucking Turk."

The men hesitated for a moment. They were new to Shin-Ra, but not so new that they didn't know what kind of trouble you got into if you messed with a Turk.

"Like that's ever stopped me before," Hojo said, with an almost reminiscent laugh. "Ignore him. He's one of my specimens. An escaped experiment. Restrain him. But be careful with him. I can't have him hurt..."

The leader of the Shin-Ra soldiers gave Reno a slight nod and regretfully said, "Sorry. Orders."

Reno snorted. The kid was just doing his job. And so he'd get a broken nose for it. Reno had done worse on many occasions. As the man reached for Reno's arms, his face was met with a swift elbow, and in the commotion Reno was able to grab his weapon.

The soldiers had spread out, and Reno was constantly turning on his heels, sure not to let any one of them stay out of his field of vision for too long. Three-on-one. It wasn't the first time Reno had been outnumbered in a fight, and it probably wouldn't be the last time. The last time...well, that had been...

* * *

Rude found it odd that there weren't any guards posted by the elevator on the 67th floor. Security had been upped everywhere since the night Jenova was stolen, especially near the lab. He continued on toward the lab, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Reno was about the only person who could make him nervous.

Reno...Rude saw the backside of a blue suit, a white shirttail peeking out, a long, flame red ponytail swishing back and forth, cool metal in his left hand. It was Reno alright, and he was surrounded by three men in Shin-Ra uniforms, very much playing cat-and-mouse with them. Hojo stood off to the side. The bastard seemed to be taking notes.

The soldiers fought tentatively. They were going up against a Turk after all, and one with an electro-mag-rod. It was worse than a knife or a gun in so many ways. One of them had a badly broken, and very freely bleeding nose, another must've taken a good shot to the ribs, and the third didn't seem to want to make a move on Reno, sure he'd have a similar fate.

They were all trying to fight him one-on-one, Rude noted. If they worked together they had a better chance of taking him down...Rude was glad the trio wasn't as strategic as he was. He made a point of adjusting his gloves as he approached Reno.

Without so much as thinking of the repercussions, he asked his partner, "Need a hand?"

* * *

Elena sighed, as she hastily made her way out of the Conference Room. At least Heidegger hadn't fired her. He didn't seem at all upset about Tseng, but he was none too pleased that she hadn't been able to tell him a thing about the Promised Land. She'd be getting another assignment shortly. A solo assignment. All in all, Elena told herself, it could've gone much worse.

Elena approached the elevator and hit the call button. She was going to give Reno a piece of her mind for what he'd pulled. She hoped Rude already had. She stepped into the elevator, and once the doors had closed, hit 'L.'

* * *

"Always startin' shit, Reno," Rude remarked, and smirked at Reno as they both hovered over the three defeated grunts.

The red-haired Turk said nothing, just stood perfectly still, taking shallow, forced breaths, and sporting a strange expression. Rude quickly recognized the look on his partner's face; it was the look Reno got when he knew something was terribly wrong, but couldn't pinpoint _what_, nor how to fix it. It was a subtle, nearly unnoticeable expression, and not one Rude had seen often; rather, just enough to be familiar with it and what it always meant: trouble. It _always _meant trouble.

Without another word, Rude grabbed Reno by the arm, prepared to escort him away.

Hojo scoffed, looking upon Reno disgustedly. "Well, if you're going to lose it, then I have no use for you. Even so..." He looked to Rude and said, "Are you going to bring him back here or not?"

Rude's jaw clenched. He stepped in front of Reno. If Hojo wanted Reno, he'd have to get past him first.

Understanding the big man's meaning, Hojo leered at him, then laughed, suddenly. "Fine. Have it your way. If he's...he could very well die. You need me. _He _needs me."

Rude simply crossed his arms.

Knowing he wasn't getting anywhere with Rude and that he wouldn't, no matter what he said or did, Hojo then addressed the guards, telling them, "This never happened." Then he walked away.

Reno stood stiffly a step behind Rude and slightly to his side, glaring daggers at Hojo's retreating form; there really was no understanding that man. His knuckles were white, he was gripping his weapon so tightly.

"Come on," Rude said, as close to coaxingly as he was capable of, as he slid the electro-mag-rod out of Reno's clenched fist and hooked it on his belt loop. "Can you walk?"

The redhead's breathing was still ragged, as he allowed himself to be turned around and led away.

* * *

The elevator doors opened in the lobby and Reno and Rude stepped out. Elena's heels could be heard clicking on the floor, and her hips switched as she moved to meet her colleagues halfway. "I'll have you know, Reno, my meeting was a disaster, because I spent the whole time worrying about you and what kind of trouble you might've gotten yourself into," she informed the redhead. She noticed the odd expression on Reno's face, and the fact that Rude had an arm around him and was very gingerly escorting him along. "What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into, Reno...?"

Reno offered no reply.

"Reno?" Elena called out. Once she realized she wasn't going to get any kind of response out of Reno, Elena looked to Rude. "What's wrong with him?"

"Don't know," Rude answered, flatly, still very slowly leading Reno on.

"Is it bad?"

"Don't know."

"What happened?"

"We fought."

"You and Reno?"

Rude shook his head. "No. Well, yeah, but not like that. I don't know what happened. He was going at it with three guards when I showed up."

"Three? All by himself?"

Rude nodded.

"What are we going to do?" Elena asked, putting a hand to Reno's cheek. "He's burning up."

"We're taking him to Mideel."

"But it's so far-"

"You got a better idea?"

"I-"

Before Elena and Rude could further what was shaping up to be their first real argument, Reno collapsed.

* * *

A/N: Yup, it's time to beg for reviews. _begs_


	8. Chapter 8

MPREG. Cussing.

Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy VII characters, locations, etc. are all property of Square-Enix. I own nothing, I just do this for fun.

* * *

"Can't you fly any faster?" Elena asked, and not for the first time, either.

Rude said nothing, just tried not to let on that he was getting annoyed with her. He was as worried about Reno as she was, and as far as he was concerned she needed to shut up and let him do his job. They'd get to Mideel when they got to Mideel, and hopefully it wouldn't be too late. At least not for Reno. Rude had pretty much accepted the worst when it came to everything else -- men weren't designed to have kids, after all. He doubted Reno would be too terribly upset over the loss. Elena would take it the hardest. Tseng would've too, if he wasn't...

"Rude?" Elena called out his name, obviously curious as to why he hadn't replied to her last question.

"How's he doing?" was Rude's only response.

Elena looked at Reno. Still unconscious, but he didn't seem to be in too much pain. She put a hand to his forehead. "He doesn't look so bad, but he's still so warm, and he won't wake up."

"Hmm," Rude paused, thoughtfully. He was feeling vindictive, almost, as he egged Elena on, suggesting, "What about your sense materia?"

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I forgot about that. But what if...?"

"What if what?"

"What if I don't...sense anything?"

"Then I guess it means there isn't anything there to be sensed," Rude said, roughly. In a slightly less harsh way, he offered, "It was just a suggestion."

"A suggestion. Right."

"Like how you keep telling me to fly faster."

"Sorry. I'm just worried, I guess."

"Yeah."

The shine of Elena's sense materia was quickly replaced by a much brighter light; Reno was glowing -- he was literally glowing. Though it enveloped his entire being, the light was, not surprisingly, emanating from Reno's middle. Looking down at her luminescent boss, Elena let out a breathless, "Something very strange is going on here..."

* * *

It was late evening in Mideel. The Turks had arrived around dusk and headed immediately for Dr. Harte's. Reno had been hauled in on a stretcher, with much shushing and murmuring in the background. At present, Dr. Harte was the only non-Shin-Ra employee who knew the specifics of his condition. However, the nurses and receptionist were often heard musing about Reno, convinced he had some horrible disease. Such a shame, because he was so young, and pretty easy on the eyes, too.

As Reno was wheeled down a short hall, Elena did her best to explain things to Dr. Harte. "He just ran out of the elevator. Sneaky little-" she hissed. "When Rude found him he was fighting with three armed guards. He ran into the person who...you know, and confronted him. Then he..."

"He was attacked?"

"We don't know, really," Elena admitted.

"He was already fighting them when I showed up," Rude intervened.

Dr. Harte nodded. "And how long has he been unconscious?"

Rude looked down at his watch. "Eleven hours. Give or take."

The doctor shook his head. He allowed Rude to open the door for him, but insisted, "You'll both have to stay out here. Depending on how bad it is, I may be forced to divulge the details of your friend's condition to some of my staff."

Rude nodded and Elena offered a quick, "Understood."

* * *

Elena's PHS rang, forcing her to step outside and away from where she and Rude stood in wait for any kind of news on Reno's condition. Rude and Elena had waited patiently for the most part, though it seemed like Reno had been in there an awfully long time.

It all left Rude wondering just how long it took someone to miscarry. He shrugged it off, and decided he'd take Reno out drinking as soon as he was up for it. Elena would be horrified by his current thought process, but Rude told himself, and would tell Elena if need be, that this wasn't about _her_. It never had been, and it never would be. It wasn't like Reno was one of her closest girlfriends and had chosen to share with her all the excitement of having a baby. Reno was a coworker. Reno was a guy. Reno hated kids. Reno certainly didn't ask to be experimented on. He hadn't asked to be experimented on, or coddled in the aftermath and expected to do the impossible henceforth.

The door swung open and Rude was greeted with a familiar face and a simple, "He's awake now."

Rude nodded.

"He's fine. He seems to be in excellent, if highly _abnormal _condition. It was probably stress. I'm putting him on bed rest for the next few days just in case," Dr. Harte explained.

Rude gave the man an odd look. "You mean he didn't...?"

"Didn't?"

"He's still...?"

The doctor nodded.

Rude uttered a contemplative "Hmm." That certainly wasn't the news he was expecting. He could only imagine how Reno had reacted to it all. It was a wonder he hadn't heard his ranting. Because surely Reno had ranted. He had to have.

"Where's your friend?" Dr. Harte asked, suddenly, once he noticed Elena was absent.

"She had to step out," Rude answered, and in an unreadable manner, added, "She'll be happy to hear everything's okay." _She'll _be happy, and I bet _he _went ape shit, Rude thought to himself. After a long pause, he said, "Thank you."

* * *

Elena sort of chewed on her lower lip, and finally let it slide free so she could pout at the man before her.

From his bed, Reno rolled his eyes at her. He was doing much better, but not well enough to be free of his motherly co-worker's concern. "Don't fucking look at me like that," he muttered, as he sat up slightly.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, sounding hopeful, but looking worn. She frowned slightly and continued, "Rude's hardly said a thing this whole time."

Reno managed a small chuckle. "You really that surprised?"

"It's different. He doesn't seem like himself. And you aren't yourself-"

"I haven't been myself in a long time," Reno interrupted, bitterly. "Fucking Hojo."

"I asked Dr. Harte what was going on with you."

Reno locked eyes with Elena, waiting for her to continue.

"He would only tell me so much."

"Like he even knows," Reno muttered.

"All he would say is stress."

"Asshole."

"Reno."

"Something happened," he said, and paused to collect his thoughts.

"Being attacked by those men..."

"They didn't lay a hand on me. Tried, sure, but come on. I'm gonna go down against some fucking Shin-Ra grunts? I don't think so."

"Then it was seeing Hojo. It must've gotten you too worked up..."

"That's not it. Something else happened. To _her_, I think."

"Her? The Ancient?"

Reno nodded.

"What?"

"I think she knew."

"Knew?" Elena asked. She gave Reno a questioning look and inquired, "About this?"

"Yeah."

"What do you mean she _knew_?" the blonde wondered, suddenly.

"Knew. As in past tense," Reno clarified. "I think she's dead."

Elena nodded, allowing herself to absorb the information. The idea of Reno being some sort of clairvoyant...well, it was out there, though no more so than the fact that he was indeed pregnant.

"If she's dead," Reno's voice faded to a whisper for just a moment. It came back full-force as he finished his statement. "Then damn her for dying. I was gonna force this thing off on her the first chance I got."

"Oh, Reno," Elena murmured. She tentatively reached out to him.

"You touch me, I'll kill you in your sleep."

Elena wasted no time at all, just swiftly withdrew her hand, almost as soon as she'd dared to extend it toward Reno. She sort of wrung her hands together after that, and finally very softly told her hot-and-cold colleague, "Heidegger's sending me up north."

"What the hell's he doing that for?" Reno asked.

"To look for Avalanche, and Sephiroth, too. We know they were headed for the Forgotten Capital," she reminded Reno.

"So where are they now?" Reno demanded, his tone beyond professional. Though he may have been in bed, wearing a t-shirt and pajama pants in the middle of the day, there was no mistaking his dedication to his job. Just another reminder of how much Reno loved the extremes, and how effortlessly he could jump from one to the other.

"They haven't come back south yet, so I'm to assume they've continued on north. Icicle Inn. They must be hiding out there."

Reno took in the information. "How long you and Rude gonna be gone?"

"Rude's not going," Elena said, with a crooked smile.

"What?"

"Someone's gotta stay behind and take care of you," she joked.

"Kiss my ass."

"Heidegger wants me to handle this one by myself," Elena explained, as she produced a small stack of papers. "Well..."

"What is that?" Reno asked, his expression somewhere between boredom, skepticism and annoyance.

"Since I won't be here..."

"Ah, hell. If this is more of your bullshit pregnancy propaganda-"

"It is not propaganda," Elena said, sternly.

"But you agree that it's bullshit?"

"Reno Tarshil, you're impossible sometimes!" Elena shouted. "No, I take that back. You're impossible all the time!"

Reno shook his head, a very 'oh, fine, since you're gonna be a wuss about it' look on his face, as he reached for the papers.

Seeing that as a victory, Elena happily handed them over. "It's the pregnancy-by-week calendar. I printed the whole thing out."

Reno's eyes zipped back and forth, skimming over the type. He remained silent for a moment until he loudly declared, "That is fucking disgusting!"

"What?" Elena asked.

"'Week fourteen,'" Reno began. "Blah blah, bullshit propaganda. Okay, here we go: 'your baby is now producing urine and actually urinating into the amniotic fluid. It can also practice breathing the amniotic fluid in and out of its lungs.'"

"I've read it all before. What about it?"

"_What about it? _Like this wasn't already bad enough before. Now I have to go on living knowing that this little monster is drinking its own piss inside my synthetic man-uterus!"

Elena let out a stunned little gasp, and once her shock had diminished, turning, instead, to anger, she crossed her arms. "All I have to say to that is that I hope you've both calmed down and cleaned up your mouth before next week."

Reno put a hand to his head as he shook it. Rude would've at least laughed at his outburst, but not Elena, no way. Rude would've laughed, and agreed hands-down that the oral consumption of urine was sickening whether one was in the womb or out in the real world. Somehow knowing Elena wasn't going to back off until she could either lecture him or show him anything and everything related to what her tireless research had taught her about the appropriate week of pregnancy, he groaned and posed the question, "What the hell is so special about next week?"

"Week seventeen. Loud noises can startle the baby," Elena said, very matter-of-factly.

What, had she memorized this shit or something? Reno wondered. He was tempted to ask just that, but knowing Elena, she wouldn't just leave it at that. She'd have a suggestion, or maybe just a fun little fact for every damn week, and parenting tips for after that.

"Duly noted," Reno finally mumbled. "Now get the hell out of my face."

Elena headed for the door.

Just as she put her hand on the knob, Reno called out, "Hey, take care, alright."

She nodded. "I will."

"Give 'em hell."

"I'll do that too."

* * *

It was weird without Elena around. Quiet. Too quiet. It just didn't feel right without the overeager blonde rattling off facts and figures, or scolding Reno for drinking too much caffeine, or now that Reno was all but over his morning sickness and his eating habits had returned to normal, snatching various food items out of his hands and telling him, "You're eating for two, Reno, not twenty five."

The last "nourishment" related discussion Reno and Rude had, had gone something like:

"Lunch?"

"Okay."

"Eat here or pick something up?"

"Doesn't matter."

"We could order in."

"Alright."

"Pizza?"

"Fine."

"Burgers?"

"Sure."

"Both?"

"Whatever you want, Reno."

In a way, Rude wished he'd been the one sent up north, and Elena had stayed behind in Mideel. He didn't know what the hell to do with a pregnant girl, what the hell was he supposed to do with a pregnant _guy_? And it wasn't just any guy, it was Reno. He didn't know what the hell to do with _normal _Reno half the time. Normal Reno...if that wasn't contradictory, Rude didn't know what was.

How was he supposed to deal with it all? He'd decided the best thing to do would be to treat Reno like he always did. That, of course, meant limiting the amount of time spent with him. If he stuck too close to his partner, he wouldn't be able to help but treat him differently.

He'd already done too much, showed too much interest and paid the price. Even through his sunglasses, Reno had caught Rude looking at his stomach. The redhead's eye twitched, and he snippily inquired, "You wanna poke at me too? Or are you content to just stare?"

Elena called whenever she got a minute, updating her coworkers on her mission_: "He just dropped. Right there in the snow. Like a ton of bricks. Didn't even try to dodge it! Can you believe it? I knocked him out cold!"_

She also gave them plenty of do's and don'ts; Rude got the do's, and Reno got the don'ts.

* * *

"I was right," Reno said, simply, and glanced at Rude as he put away his PHS. "Elena told me...the Ancient's dead."

Rude just nodded.

Reno's face turned. Rude had time for only one thought before the redhead snapped at him: _hormones._ "You want to say something to me, Rude, _say it_. You've been treating me like some kind of infectious disease and I'm sick of it. Can't say I blame you, but I'm sick of it." He spoke casually, but dangerously, nonetheless. But that was Reno, both nonchalant and confrontational at the same time. A living, breathing mass of contradictions. He never did what he should, and was always doing things he shouldn't.

"Why are you doing this?" Rude asked, plainly, his demeanor indicative that he was Reno's complete opposite in almost every respect. Cool, calm, collected. Rational. Robotic, almost, at times.

For once, Reno was the silent one.

"You want to do it?" Rude asked, a barely detectable amount of disbelief present in his voice.

"Go fuck yourself," Reno spat.

Rude nodded. "Didn't think so. So he ordered you to go through with it?"

"Tseng?" Reno asked.

Rude nodded.

Reno shook his head. "Nope."

Rude said nothing, but the look on his face conveyed plenty.

"He _asked _me to," Reno said.

"Tseng's not here."

"No shit, Rude," Reno snapped.

"He's-"

"Yeah, I know."

"You don't have to."

Reno shrugged. "No, I don't."

"You don't want to."

Reno snorted a little, and bitterly agreed, "Sure as hell don't."

"Surprised you haven't killed it, the way you do everything," Rude mused.

"So am I."

"..._it'll _probably kill _you_."

"Wouldn't be surprised if it did. Or maybe we'll both bite it."

"Then why are you doing it?"

"Because he asked me to."

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading, as always, and I'd be thrilled if you'd leave me a review telling me what you thought.


	9. Chapter 9

MPREG and F-bombs. Just like the previous eight chapters. ;)

A/N: Whew. This one's really long. Sorry. Thanks to everyone for the reviews, they really do make a difference!

Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy VII characters, locations, etc. are all property of Square-Enix. I own nothing, I just do this for fun.

* * *

Elena hummed as she misted a few plants she'd bought to liven up the house, with a small spray bottle in hand. Reno was leaning up against the wall, smirking at her, somehow looking both drowsy and aroused at the same time. She glanced over his way, somewhat suspiciously, then returned to her indoor gardening session.

"Reno, would you please stop that?" she asked, simply, as she ran a thumb and finger over the leaves of her newest addition: a beautiful little Costan fern.

"Stop what, babe?"

"_That."_

"That?" Reno asked, doing his best to look and sound innocent. Most girls would've melted; fallen for it without a second's hesitation. Elena was not most girls. She was a Turk, and above that, someone who knew Reno quite well, and was all-too-aware of what was currently motivating his behavior.

"Yes, _that_. I understand what you're going through, really, I do. I've been reading up and I know it's perfectly normal that you'd be feeling so _stimulated_..." she paused to sigh. "But stop looking at me like that."

The right side of Reno's mouth curved up into a smirk. "Like what, babe?"

"Like you're undressing me with your mind."

"Maybe I am."

Elena moved onto the next plant. "Reno, please."

"'Reno, please.' Now that's what I like to hear," the redhead murmured, smoothly.

Elena heaved a sigh and shook her head, ceasing the motion when her cheek brushed against Reno's nose. He'd moved in _that _close to her.

He inhaled deeply, letting out a satisfied "Mmm...you smell nice, babe," as he exhaled.

Elena took a step back, turned sharply, raised the spray bottle and squeezed the trigger.

"Hey!" Reno shouted, wiping his face.

"It was for your own good."

Reno pouted. He just plain pouted, and gave off a look somewhere between pissed off and wounded. After a long moment of staring at Elena, in a sort of short tone, he asked, "Where's Rude?"

"He's washing the car," was the reply given as Reno had already stalked off.

He had his back to Elena, so she wasn't able to see the devilish smirk on his face as he left her to her plants.

A moment later it hit Elena. He was going to tell Rude on her, wasn't he? Reno was just going to go outside and say, 'Hey, Rude, you'll never believe what Elena did to me. Sprayed me with her fucking spray bottle. Yeah, I came onto her, what of it?'

Oh yes, Elena could hear it all.

She had another thought a moment later, still. A very different thought. As soon as it had entered her mind, she wished it gone, but she just couldn't completely ignore that Reno might have had other ideas when he went searching for Rude. She told herself she was just over-thinking things; sexually excitable as he may have been, Reno would _never_ try anything on Rude.

Before Elena's thoughts could get the better of her (as if they hadn't already), a sopping wet Reno came into her field of vision.

She just shook her head at him, wearing a very 'I-told-you-so' look on her face.

Reno wrung out his ponytail, telling Elena, "Don't even tell me you told me so, okay. And just for the record, it was totally worth it."

Before Elena could ask Reno just what he meant by that, things started shaking. The picture frames clattered against the walls, vibrations coursing through everything from the furniture to Reno and Elena themselves.

"Another tremor?" Elena asked, a moment later, when it seemed to have stopped.

"Guess so," Reno said.

"They're getting worse."

"Yeah."

Rude stepped inside just then, pointing at Reno in a very 'I'm warning you, man' sort of way before the redhead could so much as move.

"What?" Reno asked, the picture of innocence.

"You know what."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Rude," Reno insisted.

"Don't make me turn the hose on you. Again."

"What's going on outside?" Elena asked.

"Someone just washed up in the lifestream," said Rude, simply.

* * *

That someone who had washed up in the lifestream was none other than Cloud Strife, much to the Turks' collective dismay. To make matters even worse, he had a pretty severe case of mako poisoning and Dr. Harte, unable to turn away a stray, had taken him in. The guy was in sad shape. Couldn't walk, and could barely talk or lift his head. He spent his days in various places around the building, in a wheelchair, his nights in one of the exam rooms.

The doors to Dr. Harte's office swung open and Reno sauntered in with Elena at his side. He had his jacket draped over his arms and in front of his stomach, obscuring it from view as he approached the counter.

It had to have been the receptionist's turn to watch Cloud, as he sat next to her, slumped over in his wheelchair. Until Reno got closer, that is. The blonde became excited, his eyes lit up as he sat up straight and did everything he could to get the Reno's attention. He wiggled and gurgled, as the receptionist talked soothingly to him, assuring him, "It's okay, honey, that's just Reno. He's here all the time," She winked at Reno.

He offered the woman a flippant little wave and moved to sign himself in.

Elena put a hand on Reno's back, and leaned in close to him and whispered, "It almost sounds like he's saying..."

"...Aeris." Reno finished Elena's statement, as he set the pen down on the counter.

Cloud continued to pathetically murmur the Ancient's name well after Reno had been called back, and the blonde had actually tried to get a hold of him as he was escorted to an exam room.

* * *

During the short period of time in which Cloud had been in Mideel, he'd taken a certain amount of attention away from Reno, which both angered the redhead and relieved him at the same time. It was nice to be sought after and fawned over, and all while maintaining an unnaturally high level of obnoxiousness, after all. Conversely, it was getting increasingly difficult for Reno to hide his condition -- something only a select few knew about, and were all sworn to secrecy about. Let the ladies at the clinic all think he had a tumor in his gut. It wasn't too far from the truth as far as Reno was concerned. It was something that had been growing inside of him without his consent, and was slowly taking his life away from him.

_Then why_, Reno thought, staring up at the ceiling from his bed, _do I care if someone takes it outta me?_ _Tosses it off a cliff? Sells it to the highest bidder? Spins a few circles and throws it like a discus? If it's just a tumor, why do I care? I_ don't _care_, he told himself, but a moment later he was reminded not only that he _did _care, but of _why _he cared as well. A feeling of self-loathing washed over Reno as his _tumor _flipped somersaults inside of him. It was alive, it really was, and there was no pretending it wasn't real anymore.

He could feel it from the outside now too, he noted, a hand resting on his swollen abdomen. It didn't surprise him, and yet it did. He'd actually taken to heart some of the many tips Elena had given him, be it verbal or in print. But it had still stunned him the first time he'd felt it, though he knew it was only a matter of time.

Reno knew it was only a matter of time and so did Elena. She'd probably start bugging him soon. _Really _bugging him. She'd thrown a few hints already, uttering a breezy, "She should start kicking soon," or "You've probably felt her move already and just didn't realize that's what it was," every now and then. She was always sure to add "It'll still be a few weeks before _anyone else _can feel, though." It was no secret what she meant by 'anyone else.'

Normally Reno liked it when girls couldn't keep their hands to themselves, but this was different. If he let Elena...no, the torment would never end.

Taking a deep breath, Reno decided he needed something -- _anything -- _to get his mind off of all of it, even if only for a while.

* * *

"Morning, princess," Reno said, casually. He flipped the light switch as he invited himself into his colleague's bedroom.

Rude squinted, tried to shield his eyes from the light and rolled from his back onto his side. "What the hell are you doing in here, Reno?" he managed to ask, as he stole a glance at his clock. It read 2:21AM.

"Borrowing a shirt. Need a shirt," he said, simply, casually browsing Rude's closet. He pulled one from the hanger and gave it the once-over. He flung it over his shoulder and went for another shirt.

"Right now?" Rude asked, tired, confused and annoyed. He threw his sheet off, stood up and stumbled over to Reno, firmly putting both hands on Reno's shoulders and nudging him toward the door.

Just before he'd been 'escorted' to the doorway, Reno let out a little, "Ah, not so hard."

Rude's first instinct was to spin him around and inspect the damage he'd unwittingly caused, and so he did.

Reno gave him a confused look, asking, "What the hell?"

"I thought I hurt you."

Reno scoffed, "Not you, dumbass," and pointed downward.

Rude suddenly felt very stupid. Stupid and vulnerable. It was the middle of the night and he didn't have his sunglasses on, so there was no hiding the shocked look in his eyes. To top it all off, he was half asleep, gripping Reno's shoulders, unable to stop staring down at his stomach, because he knew there was really something -- _someone _-- inside of him, and that someone was _moving_.

"Thanks for the shirt, I mean, _shirts,_" Reno told him, with a wink. If he'd been bothered by Rude's obvious gawking, he was keeping it to himself for some reason. He simply headed for the door, and waved back at Rude without so much as looking over his shoulder.

Well, Reno thought to himself, making the trek back down the hallway to his own room, at least Rude won't be getting any sleep either. For some odd reason, that made him feel quite a bit better about things.

* * *

"He almost looks innocent when he's sleeping, doesn't he?" Elena asked, looking down on Reno's resting form. "I hate to wake him, but he'll be late for his appointment."

Rude raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He reached out and plugged Reno's nose.

The action woke the redhead almost immediately, and he glowered up at Rude. "What the fuck was that for?"

"Your own good," Rude replied. He hadn't forgotten the stunt Reno had pulled the night before, showing up in his bedroom unannounced the way he had. It had kept him up for hours, trying to figure out what had motivated Reno to do it in the first place. Had he been looking for some sort of reassurance? Did he _want _to be touched? Did he really just want a shirt?

"You have a doctor's appointment today, or did you forget?" Elena wondered.

"I have to be in there all the fucking time, so, no I didn't fucking forget, thank you very fucking much!" Reno insisted.

"Language, Reno!" Elena scolded him, and reminded him, "Little unborn ears are listening."

Reno sputtered, but did little more, just let a deep frown set in once he was done stammering.

"Up," Rude told him, simply.

Reno sighed and complied.

"Now, Reno, I'm working around the house, so I won't be able to go with you today," Elena informed him as he stumbled out of bed.

"Yeah yeah. Whatever," he muttered.

"So you have to promise me you'll really go. I'm trusting you-"

"I'll go with him," Rude chimed in.

Elena and Reno both gave him a look. The whole situation seemed to make the bald Turk uncomfortable, on the off chance he showed any real interest in it. Neither Reno nor Elena could figure out just what he thought he needed at Dr. Harte's office. That is, until Reno stepped inside the building and right there in the waiting room, next to the still wheelchair ridden Cloud, stood Tifa Lockheart. She had Cloud facing the window and was looking outside herself, oblivious to the two Turks for the moment.

So, Rude really did have a thing for Boobs Lockheart, after all...Reno resolved to make fun of him later, in addition to asking him just how long he'd known she was in Mideel, how he'd found out in the first place, and why he hadn't said a thing about it.

Rude took a seat in the corner and reached for a magazine. With his sunglasses on you almost couldn't tell he was looking over the top of the magazine.

Reno gave Rude a look that told the big man he wasn't fooling him, then brushed past Tifa and Cloud on his way to the counter.

Cloud had once again become frantic. He looked and acted agitated as he tried everything he was currently capable of to get Reno's attention. Tifa looked up and over at the cause of her companion's unrest. Her eyes widened in shock, then, hardly a second later, narrowed in anger. "_Reno."_

Reno shot Tifa a defiant look and Rude, who'd been keeping a keen eye on things, perked up slightly. He didn't want to have to get involved. He really didn't want to have to get involved. Tifa was...amazing, but he was and always would be loyal to Reno.

"Cloud! Stop that!" Tifa shouted, horrified, as she slapped at his hands.

Reno, as he often did, had his jacket in front of him, using it as a buffer, and had taken a step away from Cloud. "Yeah Cloud, stop that. Wouldn't wanna get Shin-Ra cooties. Oh, never mind, you've already got them."

Tifa leered at the mouthy Turk before her. "I was doing that for your sake. He seems perfectly content to reach out to you, don't ask me why. I just figured you probably didn't want him touching you."

"Whatever, Knockers. I don't need charity from your kind," Reno muttered. "Why don't you wheel retard-boy outta here, okay? This space is mine for the next half an hour."

"I have a name," Tifa began, "and it's not Knockers. And what do you mean this space is yours? Unless you're a patient here too-"

Reno crossed his arms, partly to show defiance, partly to block Cloud's wandering hands.

Cloud was murmuring something over and over, arms outstretched as he practically pawed at Reno. "Need...a...number...Professor...Hojo..."

Tifa looked at Reno, both confused and sad as she concluded, "You're a patient here too, aren't you, Reno?"

Reno said nothing, just stared forward, blankly, until Tifa gave up on getting an answer out of him.

She let out an indignant little "Hmmph," and curled her fingers around the wheelchair handles, prepared to push Cloud away. Rude, had, with incredible swiftness, made his way to the doorway, where he held the door for her, and gave a slight nod as she passed, seeming nearly oblivious to his presence.

Reno looked down and murmured, "Hojo never gave me a number either, Strife."

* * *

"How are we doing today, Reno?" Dr. Harte asked.

Reno avoided the question, and chose instead to ask, "You got a thing for freaks, don't ya?"

"Perhaps," was Dr. Harte's reply. It was followed up with, "Or perhaps the freaks have a thing for me."

"Clever," Reno remarked, his tone anything but complimentary. "How long's he gonna be here?"

"As long as he needs to be."

"How long's _she _gonna be here?" was Reno's next question.

"As long as he's here, I imagine." As he often did, Dr. Harte asked, "What do I need from you today?"

Reno hopped onto the table. "Blood? Piss? To lube me up and touch me inappropriately?"

"You forgot weight."

Reno smirked. The guy was a smart ass, and he had to respect that.

"Alright then. Let's get your weight," Dr. Harte told him.

Reno whined, "I just got up here."

"I suppose I could do the ultrasound first..."

Reno pouted and hopped off the table.

As he weighed Reno, Dr. Harte told him, "You're just postponing the inevitable."

"Story of my life."

"And you have the metabolism of a ten year old boy."

Reno chuckled a little, but he wasn't very amused. He wasn't in the mood for skinny jokes. He hated how he looked now, even if Elena and Dr. Harte swore he was small for being nearly halfway through his second trimester. He'd seen the build before. It was brought on by other things -- malnourishment, laziness, and other slum diseases -- but he'd seen it before. Guy with his ribs showing, but with his gut sticking out too. He wanted to hit them all. Hard. And now he was one of them.

Sensing his patient wasn't in the mood for banter of any sort, Dr. Harte had kept quiet for the better part of Reno's exam, only speaking when there was some vital piece of information to be relayed to him.

"Did you want to know what you're having?" the man asked. He was pretty sure he knew what Reno would say, but he had to offer.

Reno glanced up at him as he finished buttoning his -- rather, Rude's -- shirt. "No." He'd kept his head turned away from the screen during the whole ordeal, it was the only thing he could avoid anymore -- _seeing_ it. He had to hear its heartbeat every time he went in for a check-up. So fast, sounding like it was coming from miles away, from underwater, but it was way too close as far as Reno was concerned. And on top of that he had to _feel _it now too. Kicking and punching and rolling and always when he was trying to sleep.

"Well, that's fine. Not everyone wants to know beforehand. A lot of people wait. They want to be surprised. I'll be glad to tell you if you change your mind."

"Don't count on it."

Having somewhat reluctantly chosen to the subject, Dr. Harte asked Reno, "You know him, don't you? The one with the mako poisoning."

"Maybe."

"You're friends?"

Reno actually laughed a little.

"Something else?"

"Yeah." Reno paused. "Something else. But not like that. _Fuck_."

"I've noticed he seems to liven up when he sees you. I think it would do him good if you spent a little while with him."

"Hell no," was Reno's swift response. He followed it up with a wicked grin, and said, "See you next week."

* * *

"I'm driving," was the first thing Reno said to Rude as the duo exited the doctor's.

Rude hesitated for a moment, but gave in, nonetheless, and tossed Reno the keys as they were crossing the parking lot.

The redhead smirked, mischievously, looking like himself for the first time in a long while. Inside the car, he buckled in, unintentionally caught Rude's attention as the strap was stretched across his middle, turned the key in the ignition, then cranked up the radio. He put his right hand over the gear shift and looked to his partner. "We're goin' for a little joyride."

"Fine," Rude agreed.

Reno threw the car into reverse and backed out, having hardly glanced in the rearview mirror.

It wasn't until Reno merged onto the freeway that Rude piped up and said something. "Where the hell are you going, Reno?"

Reno suddenly took a hand off of the steering wheel, pulled his PHS out of his pocket and looked to see who was calling him. He chose to ignore the call, and Rude's question as well it would seem. Instead, he asked, "So you got a thing for Knockers, eh?"

"Her name is Tifa."

"Fine. So you got a thing for Tifa, eh?"

Rude shook his head.

"Back in Gongaga..."

"Reno," Rude said, sounding tired.

"Ah, she's hot, I'll give you that. Feisty too. And smart. I know you like that."

"Slow down," Rude said, warningly, as he glanced over at the speedometer and found Reno to be driving a good 20 MPH over the speed limit.

"Hell, you sound like Elena," Reno muttered, as he slowed down ever-so-slightly. "Better?"

"Not really," Rude said, with a chuckle. He reached for his PHS, and chose, much like Reno had a moment before, to ignore the call. "Where are we going?"

"Why the fuck does it matter, huh? Can't you just...not bug me about it? Maybe we're not going anywhere. Did that ever occur to you, huh?" Reno demanded. He'd sped up again. He was always one to let his mood effect his driving. He sighed, checked his mirrors and somewhat philosophically repeated, "Maybe we're not going anywhere."

* * *

Elena practically pounced on Reno and Rude when they finally made their way back to the house. "You're both okay!"

"Why wouldn't we be?" Reno asked.

"You must've already been out of there when it happened," Elena concluded, beyond relieved. "I was so worried. I kept calling your phones but neither of you was answering," she blubbered on, trying to hug both men at the same time. "I was terrified you'd both been in there..."

Reno was quick to weasel away from her, complaining about "that damn fucking gooey shit the fucking doctor keeps smearing all over me," and insisting he needed "a fucking shower, big time."

"What happened?" Rude asked, easing himself out of his coworker's grasp much more gently than Reno had.

"You guys didn't even notice it? It's all over the news," Elena said, headed for the coffee table. She picked up the remote control and turned the TV on.

It was on every channel. An earthquake. A big one. Far beyond the tremors they'd been experiencing lately. Several structures had been destroyed, including the building Dr. Harte's office was in.

Reno turned sharply to face the TV, and he, Elena and Rude watched the report intently.

Reno looked more upset by violence than he had been, maybe ever. He softly murmured, "You think they got out alright?"

Before Elena and Rude could ask just who he was talking about -- Cloud and Tifa, or Dr. Harte and his staff -- the female reporter on the TV screen could be heard saying, "No word on how many people are still trapped inside the rubble. Back to the studio."

Reno had an odd look on his face. He wasn't one to show concern, regardless of how often he felt it. But he looked decidedly disturbed as he stared down at the floor.

Elena and Rude watched him for a minute. This was new to them. Over the past few months they'd seen everything from "give me that brownie or I'll shove my EMR up your ass" Reno, to "if you look at my stomach one more time I'll shove my EMR up your ass" Reno, to "would one of you _please, please _have sex with me" Reno -- sometimes all in one day. But this marked the first time they'd seen the redhead on the verge of breaking down.

"You were gonna get in the shower...?" Rude asked, simply, in hopes it would snap Reno out of it, if only temporarily.

Reno seemed to be trying to shake the cobwebs out of his head as he distantly mumbled, "Yeah. Yeah, I was." He dragged himself out of the living room and to the bathroom.

When the bathroom door closed, Elena looked to Rude and commented, "I've never seen him so..."

"Yeah," Rude interrupted her, somewhat harshly. "Me neither."

Before either could dwell on Reno's behavior, a horrid screeching demanded their attention. The two Turks made their way out the front door, and peered up at the sky, much like all their neighbors were doing, and gawked at the giant beast flying circles just above them.

"_What_ is that thing?" Elena asked, breathless and absolutely awed.

* * *

A/N: It's Weapon, of course! Sorry if this chapter isn't the best. Something just doesn't seem right. Of course, I still want all kinds of reviews. I love those things.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I took my sweet time with this one, didn't I? I'm really sorry. RL had me really tied up. I have to thank everyone who has reviewed me, you've all been so great. I really hope you like this chapter. There are some parts I'm kinda iffy about, but we're all our own worst critic, right?

You all already know what I'm gonna say, right? That's there's MPREG and bad language! Enjoy. ;)

Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy VII characters, locations, etc. are all property of Square-Enix. I own nothing, I just do this for fun.

* * *

"They're not really going to-" Elena began, but cut herself off. She just shook her head and stared in awe as Cid Highwind, Vincent Valentine -- a man she knew from looking through old files to be a former Turk -- and the young girl she'd been strapped to the side of the DaChao with, prepared to face off against Weapon. Weapon...yes, that was what it was called, Elena remembered. The name was fitting. Then again, Monster would've been as well.

"Looks like they are," Rude muttered.

"They'll be slaughtered," Elena said.

Rude shrugged.

"Should we help?"

Rude said nothing, just stood stiffly and watched Weapon, and the fool-hearted trio determined to fight it.

Elena had her answer right there: No.

Somehow, though, Cid, Vincent and Yuffie -- _that_ was her name -- had managed to fend off the creature without any help from the Turks, who'd resolved only to get involved if it looked like either they, or Reno were in immediate danger.

Things quieted down after that. Weapon had been driven off by Avalanche, it would seem, and the earthquakes stopped as well. Cloud had miraculously recovered, and he and Tifa left Mideel with his group almost immediately.

Mideel...the place was a mess. There were hundreds missing and dead. People had lost homes, businesses, everything.

But for the Turks, things had almost returned to normal, as odd as they all found it to think of their current situation as normal. Reno was back to grumbling about how things didn't fit him, and how a good romp with Elena would sure make him feel better, and how _unfair_ it was that he had to go _all the way across town_ for his appointments now, as Dr. Harte had been forced to relocate. Elena was passing around swatches and chirping about how it was time for Reno to start thinking about how he wanted to decorate the baby's nursery, while refusing his advances. Rude sat back and watched it all, thinking plenty, but saying little.

Where was this nursery going to be anyway? Reno hadn't even said where he was planning on _living _after he...yeah. After _that._ And with Meteor looming over them all...Shin-Ra's cock and bull idea of "let's shoot a rocket full of materia at it!" would never work. It would be great if it did, but there was just no way it would. Especially given that Cloud and his friends had managed to steal some of that materia for themselves, and no doubt, were on the way to stealing the rest of it...

* * *

"Heidegger's sending me to Rocket Town," Rude said, gaze downcast.

Reno nodded, filing away the information. "Yeah?" he asked, then quietly added, "He's sending me to Junon."

There was a well-hidden look of concern on Rude's face. "He's what?"

"Yup. Wants me to oversee all that, make sure the huge materia _gets _to Rocket Town."

"If Cloud finds out the materia's being kept in Junon..."

"He and his buddies'll show up to claim it. I know."

"Still going?"

"I was ordered to, wasn't I?" Reno's answer was loud and clear: he was going to Junon. "They already got the stuff from Corel and Fort Condor. Least that's what I heard."

"Yeah, they did," Rude confirmed.

"Wouldn't be surprised if they came, then."

"It's just you going to Junon?" Rude asked.

"It's just _you_ going to Rocket Town?" was Reno's reply to that.

"Reno."

"Ah, I'll have a couple of SOLDIER wannabes to boss around, I'm sure," Reno remarked.

"And when one of them opens his mouth and asks why a beanpole like you has a potbelly?" Rude asked, sounding almost as if he was trying to piss Reno off.

"I'll shock the living shit out of him." Reno replied to Rude's question in the same manner in which it was posed: with intentions to irritate.

"Is that your answer to everything?" Rude asked, thinking back to just how many times Reno had gone for his electro-mag-rod over trivial things in the past few months.

Reno stood up swiftly, snorting at Rude as he did. "I hope you get your ass beat," he hissed, his eyes mere slivers. He turned for the door, looking back as he reached the doorway to tell Rude, "Since you think I'm some kind of fucking... oh, whatever the word is. Since you think I'm so fucking helpless."

* * *

"You'll be careful?" Elena asked, for what seemed like the millionth time.

"Careful as a Turk can be," was Reno's somewhat smug response.

Elena pouted. "I hope that's good enough." She paused. "You'll call me the second you get there?"

"Affirmative."

At that, Elena smiled slightly and leaned in for a hug. She'd leaned in a little closer than Reno would've liked, her svelte frame pressed tightly against him. He'd tried to back his way out of the hug, or at least put some distance between her body and certain parts of his. But it was all in vain, as Elena seemed intent on closing any and all space between them, to the point that he just gave up and figured he'd better let her get it out of her system. He didn't want to end up in an argument with her too, not when he had to leave. He certainly didn't want a repeat of what had happened with Rude. He felt bad about lashing out at his partner like that. What was wrong with him? He never used to feel bad about being a jerk. Most of the time he liked it. Damn hormones.

Elena had a hand on each of Reno's shoulder blades, and her fingertips just peeking over the top of his shoulders, her bust right in line with his "potbelly," to quote Rude. He let out a groan when he felt the kick and she gasped. They backed away from one another, and Elena eyed Reno curiously, both her eyes and her hands drawn immediately to his stomach.

"Do you- do you mind if I...?" she stammered.

"You already are. Guess not."

"Do you feel that a lot?" she asked, eyes still fixed on her hands, thinking of the feel of the fabric against her skin, and all that was beyond it.

"Feel it enough."

Elena squealed suddenly, unaware that Reno was rolling his eyes at her overexcited attitude. "It- it moved again!"

Reno just nodded.

"Of course, you knew that," Elena said, with a pout, feeling stupid.

Reno nodded once more. "It's not that-"

Elena proceeded to hug Reno again, more specifically, his stomach.

"...special."

Elena looked up at Reno as best she could from her position. "Shut up. It is too."

"You know, it can hear you."

"I-" Elena stammered.

"Can't it? Isn't that why you're always on my ass to stop cussing so much?"

"Yes, that's precisely why." Elena gave Reno a sour look. "I wasn't telling _you _to shut up. I was telling _him _to shut up." She tried to explain herself to his unborn offspring.

Reno put a hand to his forehead. _Great, now she's talking to it, _he thought. _Never should've opened my mouth._ "Elena, I kind of need to get going now," he finally said, still stuck in her grasp. "So you kind of need to let go of me."

Elena backed away. She was flushed, and smiling from ear to ear.

"Oh, hell. Wipe that damn grin off your face already."

"Sorry," she apologized, doing her best to restrain herself. "I wish you weren't going."

Reno gave a little 'same here' eyebrow raise. "Yeah, well, orders."

"Yeah, orders," she softly echoed. "I wish you could stay, at least until Rude gets back."

"That's on him. He wants to stay out all night, that's his business. He's a grown man."

"Of course. But why would he do it now? He knew you were leaving today."

"You just answered your own question. I was kinda an asshole the last time we talked," Reno told her. "Look, I really have to go."

Elena nodded her agreement, and offered up a sad smile. She watched Reno all the way to the car, and the car all the way to the street corner, waiting several minutes before she finally went back inside.

* * *

"I don't like you. I don't want you," Reno insisted, looking down. "You're nothing but a mooch. And a pain in my ass. And my back, too. And why the hell am I talking to you anyway? Damn Elena. She likes you so much, she can have you. That's it. I'm pushing you off on her. Ugh. And quit kicking me!"

The elevator came to a stop and as the doors opened, Reno shook his head and sighed. Time to get to work. He really didn't want to be there, on assignment -- a solo assignment, no less -- in his state, but there was no going back now. He might as well see it through. Besides, it beat standing in an elevator, talking to your stomach.

Reno was immediately greeted with two salutes, and an over-eager and perfectly synchronized, "Sir!"

"Yeah yeah," he muttered, slouching. It certainly didn't help his back, which had been bothering him lately, but it did enough to conceal his ever-growing bulge. "Go help load, I gotta make a call," he instructed them. He was quick to pull out his PHS and get Elena on the phone.

"This is Elena."

"Hey, Elena."

"Are you alright?" she asked, immediately.

"Geez, already with that shit," Reno grumbled.

"Of course. Now answer the question."

"I'm fine. Just waiting for them to get the shit loaded onto the sub."

"Them?" Elena repeated.

"Couple of SOLDIER trainees."

"They haven't said anything, have they?"

"Not a word. Don't think you can _really _tell if I slouch," Reno explained, hoping, as he did and said it, that it was true. "I just look a little...I dunno, _tubby_."

"Reno, you shouldn't slouch. That's not good for your back. You'll get sore."

"Already am sore. Hey, I gotta go. Think my flunkies are coming up behind me. Later." Reno hung up his phone suddenly, and without even turning, said, "What are you doing? Help load." He put his phone back in his pocket and turned around, prepared to scold the two SOLDIERs, for seemingly ignoring their superior. He'd told them to do something, and they hadn't said a single word. It wasn't like them...they'd been so annoyingly eager just a short while earlier. "Cloud?"

"Either give it to us or else," Cloud said, frigidly. "Which is it gonna be?"

"Unfortunately, I don't have time to deal with you," Reno said, calmly. "My priority is the huge materia." He turned and walked away. He was practically stunned into good posture by his overzealous charges, as they both flanked him, loudly informing him that the huge materia had been loaded onto the submarine.

"Good. I have another job for you both," he told them. With his thumb, he pointed over his shoulder, at Cloud, telling the two SOLDIER hopefuls, "Kick his ass," and continuing on his way.

He pretended not to hear Highwind shouting, "Fight your own fucking battles, you fucking pansy!"

_Just for that..._Reno thought to himself, with a chuckle. Under different circumstances, he could almost see himself being friends with the ever-swearing ex-Shin-Ra pilot, but under _these_ circumstances..._yeah, just for that..._

Reno had been to the Underwater Reactor numerous times, mostly acting as an escort. He knew the layout of the facility, as well as the machinery. He remembered his last visit; Scarlet was beaming as she unveiled an altogether bizarre contraption she called "Carry Armor." A giant, two-armed crane, to be exact. Both of those arms could operate either together, or independently from one another, depending on the task. It was assured to reduce both cargo loading time and the number of workers on Shin-Ra's payroll.

Scarlet had loads of facts and figures on the thing, and what a revolutionary piece of machinery it was, but Reno wasn't so concerned with the specifics. Could he program it to attack Cloud? That was what he wanted to know, and was aiming to find out. At the very least he was sure he could use the thing to buy himself some time.

Reno was chuckling to himself as he rode the elevator back to the surface. He could still picture those ridiculously wide mako eyes, as Cloud assumed his fighting stance, and he could still hear Cid's tirade. "What the fuck's the matter with you, Turk! Don't have the balls to fight fair! I'll beat the tar outta these two little pricks, scrap this piece of shit, then I got your number! I'll ram this spear so far up your-" That was when the lift doors had shut, cutting Cid off, mid-rant. Reno could guess what his next word had been.

"And Elena says _I _cuss too much," he said, softly, glancing downward. Realizing he was talking to _it_ again, he cursed, "Son of a fucking-" He shook his head and smirked, "What do you know, I do cuss too much."

Reno was glad Elena wasn't there. She'd be all too thrilled to see him acknowledging _it._ Oh yeah, Reno was damn glad Elena wasn't there. Even more, though, he was thankful Rude wasn't around. Rude...Reno still felt a pang of guilt over his last conversation with the big man, and how he'd snapped at him when all he'd really done was show concern. Why did it bother him so much? They were partners. They were friends. He should've been happy someone was looking out for him; thinking of him. Just meant he was worried about him. But _Rude_, worried about _him_? It was weird. It was just plain weird. Still...

Reno pulled out his PHS once again and called a number that was obviously very accessible. "How's life in Rocket Town?" he asked, simply.

"Ready for launch at anytime," Rude replied.

"Yeah, well, the shit's on the way."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Piece of cake."

"Yeah?" Rude asked, his tone changing slightly. He was glad Reno's mission seemed to have gone off without a hitch.

"Yeah," Reno confirmed. "See you back in Mideel then, huh?"

"Yeah."

The two men ended their phone conversation.

* * *

It was after midnight when Rude arrived in Mideel. He was tired, his knuckles were a lovely shade of purple, and his ribs hurt, among other things. He'd have fun reporting to Heidegger on how Cloud had managed to get away from the Turks yet again. There would be no making the man understand. Elena would understand. Reno would understand. Sure, he'd talk plenty of shit, but he'd understand. He'd understand better than anyone, after facing off against Avalanche three-against-one.

That, Rude realized, was what had started it all. If it hadn't been for that, Reno never would've been near enough to Hojo, or if he was, well, he'd have beaten the hell out of the crazy bastard for so much as trying to lay a finger on him. Something Hojo never even would've tried if Avalanche hadn't fucked Reno up, then stormed the Shin-Ra building to spring their friend free. No, none of it would've happened. Hojo'd still have the Ancient to poke and prod and inject and play God with. She'd be in a room somewhere, having kittens or whatever. Rude wasn't entirely sure what RedXIII was, after all. And he and Reno would be completely removed from the situation, off at a bar, knocking back a shot, or maybe shooting a game of pool.

There was a gentle humming, accompanied by a quick tapping sound as Rude unlocked the door and stepped inside the beach house. It took him a moment to place the sound, or rather, the device it emanated from: a sewing machine. He rolled his eyes and chuckled a little. He took the sound to mean that Elena had decided to try her hand at making baby clothes. Rude almost wished he'd have been there to see Reno's reaction to it all. He was probably in bed now, though. It was pretty late after all.

Rude was stopped dead in his tracks by the sight of the person at the table; it wasn't Elena, it was _Reno_. He had a bottle of soda to the side of the sewing machine. Rude was surprised Elena would allow it. She'd set strict rules about the amount of caffeine Reno was to consume. Her claim had been, _"It's a drug, you know." _

Rude recognized the shirt Reno was wearing: loose, dark gray, cotton, casual, with three buttons. Yeah, he recognized it -- it was _his_. The sleeves were way too long for Reno, but it was a decent fit around his midsection, a little snug, even. Rude only allowed himself a fleeting look; he didn't feel like getting caught gawking again.

The redhead casually glanced up from the sewing machine and over at the doorway, lifting his foot from the pedal as he did. "Lemme guess, they got away from you."

Rude said nothing, just raised en eyebrow at Reno. He'd much rather talk about Reno's little adventure in home economics than his failed mission -- anything but that, really. Trying to change the subject he asked, "Where's Elena?"

"Bed, I think. Pretty late, you know."

"So why are _you _up?" Rude asked, slowly approaching Reno.

"Can't sleep."

"And you decided to sew?"

"Blow me. Nah, Elena and I found this thing in the attic, behind a bunch of shit. Dragged it down here. Now she thinks she's gonna make baby clothes." Reno paused and laughed a little. "Doesn't know the first thing about sewing."

"And you do?" Rude retorted, more to get a rise out of Reno than anything. Clearly, he _did _know what he was doing. Or he was doing an excellent job of faking it. Or maybe he was just that quick of a learner.

Reno merely returned to his task, choosing not to respond to Rude.

"_You _dragged this down here?"

"Doesn't weigh that much."

Rude sighed. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Hemming up your pants."

"My pants need hemming?"

"Yup."

"Why?"

"They're too long on me."

Rude pinched the bridge of his nose. He was so tired it was almost funny, though. Frustrating, as he was now out however many pairs of pants, but funny. Watching Reno stop the sewing machine and set aside a pair of his best navy blue trousers, then immediately grab at another pair and mercilessly cut several inches of material from both legs, he asked, "Did you leave me _any _pants?"

Reno glanced up from his task and over at Rude, but didn't answer his question. Instead he asked, "Turning in?"

"Yeah, probably. When'd you get back?"

Reno just shrugged and resumed sewing. "Day before yesterday." For a moment the hum and tap of the sewing machine was the only sound in the room, until Reno piped up and said, "All that shit I said before I left..."

"Don't worry about it. Water under the bridge. We're cool."

"Okay. We're cool."

"So why couldn't you sleep?"

Reno shrugged the question off. He took his time before deciding to say anything. "Get your ass to bed and we can talk about it later."

* * *

"Did he seem alright when he got back?" Rude asked Elena, when he was finally able to pull her aside.

"You were worried too?" she wondered, seeming almost gleeful at the prospect.

Rude stonewalled her.

"Oh, fine. Don't admit to anything. Of course he _seemed_ fine. He always does."

Rude's blank look assumed the form of a deep drown.

"He was cleared by the doctor. I hauled him there almost immediately. Baby's well and _kicking!_" Elena beamed. Her demeanor told Rude she was speaking from experience, though he found it odd Reno would let her touch him. Continuing where'd she'd left off, Elena added, "He's still a little underweight, but other than that he's perfectly fine. We'd all like it if he put on some more weight. Well, almost all of us. Reno can be a little vain sometimes, can't he?"

Rude thought of his pants. "A little?"

* * *

A/N: I know the end of this one is a little weak, and a better author would've been able to scrap the last scene, but I just didn't want to part with it, silly as it seems. Now what did _you _guys think? That's what I really wanna know. ;)


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: As you will soon see, I've done a bit of fast-forwarding. Some of this doesn't exactly flow great and I'm sorry. It's a bit rushed, but I'm really trying to get this thing done and posted. I'm really, really sorry it took me so long to update! Also, this one's a little on the fluffy side, at points. Hopefully it isn't too OOC.

MPREG, language, and what I hope is _mild_ fluff. ;)

Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy VII characters, locations, etc. are all property of Square-Enix. I own nothing, I just do this for fun.

* * *

"Picked out a name yet?" Elena asked.

Reno grimaced.

"You're running out of time."

"Shut the hell up."

"There's an old tradition," she began. "I don't know where it originated. But you name your child something you don't want for them."

"Huh?"

"Something that means...I don't know, sorrowful, or unlucky. You'd never call them something that meant happy."

"Whatever." Reno brushed his friend off.

"You're nearly eight months pregnant. You really need to start thinking about this. You're having a baby soon, whether you like it or not."

"Not," Reno interrupted.

"Well," Elena paused and looked down, "that's a real shame."

"How the fuck do you figure?"

"Because you're doing an amazing job of it."

Reno's eyes widened; he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You've gotta be kidding me."

"I'm not. You've just...well, I don't know if I can put it into words, but I think...I think there are forces at work here far beyond all of us."

"Oh, don't give me this 'it was your destiny, Reno' bullshit. It was bad luck. Bad fucking luck. Inconveniences and missed opportunities. Mad scientist and a dead Ancient. You don't really think this is gonna turn out okay, do you?" Reno asked, genuinely curious.

The blonde stared at the floor.

"Holy shit, you do," Reno concluded, sounding as though he had a headache. "Goddamn, you're naive sometimes."

Elena swallowed hard, still staring intensely at the carpet. She didn't know whether to hug Reno, hit him, or just stand up and walk away.

"Alright, alright. If it's that important to you..." He paused and pulled a coin from his pocket. "I'll name the thing. I'll even abide by your dumbass tradition. Heads, it's 'Ugly,' tails, it's 'Stupid.'"

"Reno," Elena gave him a stern look, but her eyes were twinkling.

His eyes were twinkling too. He flipped the coin. He caught it in his left hand and placed it on top of his right. He unveiled the coin, then looked up at Elena. "Well, that settles it."

* * *

It was the middle of the day and the TV was on. Reno and Rude sat next to one another on the couch. Reno had a carton of milk in one hand and a box of Choco Puffs in the other. He hadn't bothered with a bowl and spoon, stating A) he was planning on eating the whole box of cereal, B) he didn't feel like washing any dishes, and C) if anyone had a problem with him drinking milk from the carton, they could blow him.

"Reno?" Rude called out, seeing Reno set down the milk carton in favor of the remote.

"Hey... check it out," the redhead murmured, seeming interested in something on TV.

"Reno," Rude called out again, more firmly.

"Hmm?" he asked, mouth full.

It was quiet for a moment, save for any sounds coming from the television, and Reno's occasional crunching. Rude just shook his head. He wasn't quite sure how to say what he wanted to say. "Did you ever think you'd be where you are right now?"

"Right now?" Reno asked, with a smirk. "No. Can't say that I did. If you'd told me a year ago, that right now I'd be _knocked up_, livin' in bumfucked Mideel, sittin' on the couch in the middle of the day, eating cereal out of the box and watching Costan soaps while some giant rock's about to end the world..."

"Damn, we're pathetic," Rude concluded.

"Speak for yourself," Reno said, feigning offense. He went to bring the cereal box to his mouth for another "bite," and ended up dropping a few "puffs." He was quick to scoop each and every "puff" up from the couch cushion, declaring, "Five-second rule!" as he popped the morsels into his already full mouth.

Rude couldn't help but laugh.

Reno sat back and sort of puckered his lips, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. "Damn, we _are _pathetic."

"If Heidegger ever saw us like this," Rude commented. He eyeballed the cereal and asked, "How much of that you got left?"

"Enough." Reno answered. "Why?"

"Enough to share?"

"Theoretically speaking, yeah," was Reno's reply.

"Theoretically speaking?" Rude wondered.

"Yeah."

"Good."

Reno offered over the cereal box. As Rude took it from him, Reno informed him, "You're taking food out of my kid's mouth, you know."

"Sorry," Rude said, unexpectedly.

"Sorry?" Reno repeated. "What the hell for? I was just kidding about that shit, man."

"I know you were," Rude assured him. He took a moment, then said, "Just sorry I haven't really been there for you."

"You, uh..." Reno eyed Rude suspiciously. "...you okay?"

"Fine."

"Then why the hell are you acting like this?" Reno asked.

"I haven't treated you any differently," Rude said.

"Exactly," Reno agreed, solemnly. "Thanks."

Rude chuckled a little. "It's not a good thing."

"It's not a bad thing."

"It's not a good thing," Rude repeated.

The two men sat in silence for a short while.

"Think it'll look like you?" Rude asked, suddenly.

"Dunno. Why?"

Rude shrugged. "Better for it to look like you than act like you."

The remark earned him a bark of laughter, and a "Not bad."

"I'm sure you'll have a decent enough looking kid," the bald Turk assured his friend.

"Yeah, after those first few designated 'ugly' hours, I think so too," Reno agreed, casually. "Mama's a looker. Was a looker. Whatever."

"That's awful, man," Rude said, simply.

"What? You brought it up!" Reno reminded him, animatedly. "Besides, you ever seen a newborn? They're fucking hideous! I have yet to see one kid come out cute. Like something out of a horror movie. I mean, yeah, give 'em a few hours, they turn cute, but at first-"

The duo shared a laugh, their chuckles dying down as Reno's PHS began to ring.

"This is Reno." He covered the mouthpiece a moment later and whispered, "Speak of the devil."

Rude gave him a questioning look.

Reno spoke one word. "Heidegger." He talked to his superior for a few moments, looking to Rude as he hung up and said, "New orders. Looks like we're going back to Midgar."

* * *

"Little jumpy today, Rude?" Reno asked, in a teasing whisper; he was close enough to the big man he needn't speak any louder.

Rude didn't back away from his position, where he'd practically pinned Reno against the wall, trying to shield him. From what -- well, that was anybody's guess. Rude just eyed his and Reno's surroundings. It was getting louder by the minute, and the tremors were intensifying as well. Hojo had done it again.

Though the Turks had been ordered to stop Avalanche -- by way of death, no less -- they'd decided that could wait. Stopping Hojo was more important. In fact, that seemed to be Avalanche's objective as well -- to put an end to the scientist's madness, and most likely the scientist too. It was like killing two birds with one stone, Rude, Reno and Elena had agreed. They'd run into Cloud and the others at some point, given their shared destination.

If they could just reach that destination. The Sister Ray was dangerously close to overheating and taking a large part of Midgar with it. Small cracks were spreading across the walls of the winding tunnel, lights were out here and there, and a main had to have burst somewhere nearby, if the ankle deep water was any indication.

"I said," Reno paused for a split-second, then repeated, "'little jumpy today?'"

"You alright?" was all Rude said.

Reno offered a quick nod.

"Good."

"Hope Elena's alright," Reno added.

"Yeah."

Elena had gone on ahead. She'd sworn she wouldn't get too far ahead, just far enough to assess the situation, then she'd turn back and inform her partners of her findings.

Rude looked down suddenly, with an odd expression on his face.

Reno merely rolled his eyes and shook his head, gently shoving Rude away from him. It wasn't the first time one of his friends had had the misfortune to be in close to him when the baby decided to kick him a good one. "Guess you aren't the only jumpy one."

Rude just stared at Reno, unable to look away. He was thankful the redhead couldn't see his eyes in that moment.

Reno stepped out in front of his still awed partner, headed for the next section of the tunnel.

Quickly catching up to him, Rude asked, "That ever hurt?"

Reno glanced over his way, visibly surprised by Rude's interest. "Sometimes." With a sigh, he mused, "Wonder what Hojo'll think when he gets a look at me...?"

"He's not gonna have time to think," Rude assured him.

Reno smiled at the remark, then said, "Then let's find Elena and end this."

They found her soon enough, guided by her words. She still sounded like a rookie when she shouted, somewhat aimlessly, "Oh no, they're here!"

It was, of course, what Elena did best -- make herself out to be an incompetent ditz. It threw people off. Avalanche thought she was weak and foolish, and couldn't figure out for the life of them how she'd risen to the ranks of the Turks. She was still green, and had a long way to go before she felt as comfortable with it all as Reno and Rude, but Elena Marshall had a good head on her shoulders. She'd fought tooth and nail to make something of herself, and if the job called for her to play the dumb blonde, she did it happily. After all, she'd done much worse since joining the Turks.

Reno and Rude were at her side by then, as she continued, "What are we going to do?" She stole a quick glance at Reno and said, "I think it's okay for you to ignore your orders now."

"...Elena, don't act so weak," Reno said, condescendingly.

"We're Turks, Elena," Rude added.

"Yes, sir," she agreed. "You're right."

"Come on, we've got work to do," Rude said.

Reno shook his head. He chose to play off the confused stares Tifa, Cloud and Vincent were awarding his protruding midsection, and declared, "I'm not really up for it, but..."

"Our orders were to seek you out and...kill," Elena informed her would-be opponents. "Our company may be in turmoil, but an order's an order. That's the will and spirit of the Turks! Believe it!" she shouted. She was laying it on thick.

The trio was still eying Reno, and had seemingly disregarded Elena's gung-ho statement.

"What are you doing?" she demanded. "Let's go!"

Though his heart didn't seem to be in it, Cloud agreed, "Okay, let's end this."

"I know we have a weird relationship, but..." Reno's electro-mag-rod crackled to life, as he finished his thought, "we have to end this like Turks."

Cloud started shaking his head, fiercely, finally lowering his weapon pathetically and mumbling, "No," over and over.

"Make up your mind, Strife!" Reno yelled.

Tifa was in close to Cloud, mothering him as usual, stroking his hair as she murmured, "Are you okay?"

Vincent didn't flinch, didn't take his eyes off the Turks. Nobody else spoke for a moment, until Cloud stood up straight, secured the Buster Sword and informed his companions, "We're not fighting them."

Reno, stepping up and acting as his group's leader, said, simply, "Lets call it a day."

Cloud looked to his friends. "We're going after Hojo. That's what we're really here for."

Tifa and Vincent seemed to agree and they continued on their way to the Sister Ray, and Hojo.

After a moment, Rude asked, "We going after them?"

Reno didn't say anything. He shrugged his shoulders.

"We're not going after them...?" Elena asked. "We're not going after Hojo...?"

Reno just shrugged again, his back to his teammates.

Rude sort of chuckled, unable to make sense of Reno. "It's why we came. It's the only reason we didn't just ignore Heidegger's orders. We came to get Hojo. So, are we going after him or not? What the hell is your deal, Reno?"

"_My _deal? What the hell is _my _deal?" Reno shouted, spinning around to face Rude and Elena. His voice had an odd tone to it as he continued, "_None _of this is _my_ deal, trust me."

"Damn it," was all Rude said, as he quickly understood what was going on.

Elena caught on a second later. "Reno! Are you...? You _are_! You really are!"

* * *

A/N: I just realized that for the longest time I had Cloud using Ultima Weapon and not the Buster Sword. LOL. I changed it for the sake of the story, even though we all know Ultima Weapon is a million times better than the Buster Sword in combat.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: It's the end! Finally! Sorry it took me a while to finish this. My first version of this chapter was lost (cries) and I had to write much of it from memory, as well as a bit from scratch. I really don't like the beginning of it, so if you don't either, just know you aren't the only one. It's not action...y at all and I apologize. That's just not my strength. Plus, I was determined to keep this as close to canon as I could.

Kind of sappy, at points. Forgive?

MPREG...for a while longer, anyway. ;) Definitely swearing.

Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy VII characters, locations, etc. are all property of Square-Enix. I own nothing, I just do this for fun.

* * *

Reno knew there was no way he could fight in his condition. Be it Cloud and his buddies he squared off against, or whatever the hell he'd just seen Hojo morph into; it was larger, and somehow even fouler than his first transformation. But there Reno stood, close enough to see the battle, but not to take part. A comrade on either side and an unreadable expression on his face, Reno tightened his grip on the railing. It was anybody's guess what he was feeling. Was it the pain of his body revolting against him -- trying to perform an act it was never meant to? Or was it the realization that -- damn this kid's horrible timing -- Hojo had taken his revenge away from him as well?

Rude and Elena said nothing, just stood silently next to Reno. They'd leave when he was ready. No sooner, no later. Unless they felt like dragging him, kicking and screaming, all the way back down however many stairs, through the winding tunnel and the streets of Midgar, to the chopper.

Elena had been last to speak, nagging Reno to slow down as he was taking the rusty metal steps two at a time. It seemed nothing, not even the onset of labor, could keep him from getting to Hojo. He'd wavered down in the tunnel, and she thought that maybe, just maybe, he'd do the sensible thing and let Cloud take care of Hojo. From what she'd heard, Strife deserved a shot at the man as well. But Reno, do something sensible? She knew it was too good to be true. So she bit her tongue and buried her worry and followed silently behind her leader when he'd said, "Come on. We're going up."

Rude hadn't argued. No one was surprised.

It was a relief -- a small relief, but a relief, nonetheless -- when Reno had stopped, three-quarters of the way up the stairs and admitted to his partners, "I can't touch him."

The trio locked eyes in silent understanding.

"But I have to see him die," Reno concluded, fiercely. Bitterly. "Even if it's Strife that does him in. I have to see it."

And so he did. It was downright infuriating to let someone else take that from him, but Reno had been right when he said he couldn't touch Hojo. At least the ex-Turk had finished him off. Once a Turk, always a Turk, Reno told himself. He knew Vincent deserved it as much as he did. That knowledge was only marginally satisfying for Reno.

* * *

Thoughts of Hojo, deformed, oozing and bleeding all over the place, as Avalanche mercilessly shot, stabbed, froze, burned, electrocuted and speared him were still so fresh in his mind -- it had only been about forty-five minutes after all. They did it. They _destroyed _him, and Reno? He stood and _watched_.

Elena had been _watching _Reno very closely the entire time. It always worried her when he was being introspective. She'd kept quiet all the way to the chopper and for nearly the first hour of flight. When she'd had enough of the silence, she asked, "This is really it, isn't it?"

"Yup," had been Reno's short (in every sense of the word) reply.

"Can't quite believe it."

"Yup."

"Is it bad?" she asked, in a low voice.

"Bad enough. I've dealt with worse."

"That's good," Elena said, amending the statement mere seconds later, "No, wait. That's not good. That's bad. I'm sorry."

It's okay, Elena," Reno said, sweetly, genuinely. It was short-lived, though. His response to Elena offering him to squeeze her hand when it hurt was, "How about you lemme squeeze your neck instead? No, better yet, lemme squeeze Hojo's neck. Pop his beady little eyes right out of their fucking sockets."

Elena pouted and folded her hands in her lap.

"I'm fucking serious," Reno grumbled. "What the fuck was I thinking 'I can't touch him?' I could've taken him."

"Too late now, Reno," Rude said, sternly.

"_Fuck_."

"You made your choice," Rude reminded him. After a long pause he added, "You made the right choice."

* * *

They were in Mideel now, on the freeway, with Rude behind the wheel. He glanced over at Reno. The redhead didn't look good, as far as he was concerned. He was flushed and fidgety, tense and tired. He hadn't said much in a while, and that was by far what worried Rude the most. Reno was typically a very vocal complainer, so much so that he wasn't often taken seriously when something was really wrong with him. The thing about Reno, Rude knew, was that if he was loud, it was nothing. It was when he was quiet that there was cause for alarm. And right now, Reno was being very quiet.

Rude glanced away from the road for a split second and over at Reno. "Hey."

"What?" he muttered, looking up and Rude, then down at his stomach, which he was pretty sure Rude had been staring at, thinking who knows what, and finally back up at the man himself.

"Just making sure you're alright," Rude told him.

"You got a pretty fucked up definition of 'alright' there, Rude," Reno told him, almost sounding too weary to be angry.

"Well, it must not be too bad if you can still joke," Rude concluded, though he didn't sound like he was completely convinced himself.

"You worried about me?" Reno asked, in disbelief.

"No," Rude insisted, a little too quickly.

Reno actually laughed. "You are. That's fucking priceless." He paused and took a deep breath. "It's not gonna come rippin' outta me like... what's that one movie? You know, the one where -- _son of a bitch_. That fucking hurts."

A small, perfectly manicured hand came up between the seats and squeezed Reno's shoulder. "Hang in there. We'll be there soon. You're doing great."

As time passed, Rude would lose count of how many times, and how many different ways in which Elena tried to paraphrase that. She hadn't attempted to touch at Reno in a while, not since he'd angrily shaken her hand from his arm, during one of her many attempts to comfort him. She wouldn't have been able to reach him now anyway, as he was no longer leaning back in his seat. Now, he was pretty much doubled over, chin in his hands, forehead against the dash.

Without warning or hesitation, Rude slammed on the brakes and threw the car into park, not even noticing the dull _thunk_ that immediately followed.

"Ow, you fucker. That was my head," Reno groaned.

"Rude!" Elena scolded him.

"Sorry," he apologized, unbuckling, pulling the key out of the ignition and opening his door. "We're here."

Reno had a palm to his forehead as he stepped out of the car. Rude and Elena both knew better than to try and help. There would be serious repercussions for such a gesture, no matter the intention.

* * *

"What happened? Did he get hit in the head?" Dr. Harte asked, putting a hand to the red welt on Reno's forehead.

"Tell him what happened, Rude," Reno instructed his partner, daringly.

And so Rude did.

Dr. Harte's response had thrown everyone off guard. "I'm sure it's of little consolation to you, Reno, but I've seen and heard much worse."

"And I'm sure you're about two seconds from telling me that someday, I'm gonna look back on this and laugh," Reno grumbled, as he was damn near shoved down into a wheelchair. He continued with his rant, regardless. "I can just see us twenty years from now. 'Hey, Rude, remember that one time that mad scientist got me pregnant and you gave me a concussion when I was in labor?' _Goddamnit_." Reno glowered down at his stomach. "Stop doing...whatever the hell you're doing to me."

"That's just your baby's way of telling you its ready to be born."

"Well, I get it, alright."

The doctor gave Reno a pat on the shoulder, then proceeded to wheel him down the hall, signaling for Rude and Elena to follow. "I'd say you got him here just in time."

Elena and Rude shared a small, uncomfortable smile. Somehow the statement just wasn't very reassuring in the moment.

"One of you can come in with him," Dr. Harte said, looking to Reno and telling him, "If that's alright with you."

Reno offered up a heavy, "Yeah."

Elena smiled sweetly at Rude and whispered, "You."

* * *

Neither Rude nor Elena said anything, though they both wore the same nervous expression, paced the same narrow hallway, and took turns staring at the same closed door. Elena would have the tiny space to herself in a short while -- as soon as Reno had been prepped for surgery.

As it was all very quickly explained to the trio of Turks, Reno would be given a local anesthetic, to numb his middle, as per standard c-section procedure. He'd remain alert for the surgery, unless it became absolutely necessary to put him under. The prep would probably take longer than the actual operation. Closing Reno up would be a little more involved. There was the matter of removing the womb, and doing it with as little risk to Reno as possible.

After what felt like an eternity, the door opened slightly, catching Rude and Elena's attention immediately, and the nurse said, "He's ready. You can come in now."

Elena gave Rude a nod, and a sad smile, but didn't say anything. Her look conveyed her feelings just fine. Rude would take care of Reno.

* * *

The first thing Rude noticed, entering Reno's room was the smell. Hospital smell. He hated it. The sterility...it was never a good sign. There was a buzz in the air that told him the sterilization had been done with materia. He figured that was the only reason he hadn't been forced into a pair of scrubs, and made to put a mask over his mouth just to be allowed anywhere near Reno.

Reno...Reno was squirming. Trying to get a look at what Dr. Harte was doing. He had been momentarily stopped by Rude, who put a hand to his forehead and said, "Stay still," as soon as he reached his friend's bedside.

"Can't see. What's he doing to me?" Reno demanded.

"Don't worry about it," Rude assured him.

"Then I take it you can't feel this?" the doctor asked.

"What's he talkin' about?"

"He's poking you, Reno, to see if you're numb," Rude explained, for the first time noticing everything Reno's, or rather, _his_ clothing had concealed over the past few months.

Reno nodded. "Guess... I guess I am."

"Guess so."

"How about this? Can you feel that?"

Reno merely shook his head.

"No? Then I think we're ready to get started," was the conclusion, followed a moment later by a shallow incision slightly below the one Hojo had given Reno. The one that had started it all.

Lot of blood, Rude decided, as the cut was made deeper, and Reno was mercilessly spread open. The sight of blood didn't typically bother Rude -- he was a Turk after all. But the sight of _Reno's _blood, the few times he'd seen a lot of it, disturbed him greatly. Always had, always would.

"...he do it? He...cut into me?" Reno asked.

Rude nodded. He said nothing. He figured no good could come from him informing Reno that in addition to the unforgiving incision, Dr. Harte pretty much stuck a big metal spatula inside of him to keep it open.

Reno squirmed once again, trying to get a look. "Can't see."

"That's the idea," Rude told him, doing his best to still him.

"Can you?"

"Yeah, I can see."

"...is it gross?"

Rude chuckled. "Yeah."

"Glad to...hear..." Reno mumbled, sounding his most distant yet. He blinked a few times, until finally, his eyes remained closed.

"What 's wrong with him?" Rude demanded.

Dr. Harte, now wearing a fair amount of Reno's blood, glanced up. He nodded to his nurse, who was quick to abandon her position pressing down on Reno's abdomen to swoop in and check his vitals.

"He's stable," she confirmed.

"Good," the man said simply, now holding something bloody and vaguely baby-shaped between his gloved hands. It was small, so small, and not moving as far as Rude could see.

The nurse had come in close to Dr. Harte, taking the all-too-quiet baby from him, then stood in waiting as he cut the cord. She cradled the child to her chest, seeming not to care that her uniform was now smeared with blood. She stuck a finger in its mouth, clearing it, telling the baby, "Now how about you make some noise for me, sweetheart?" Before her request was granted, the nurse turned sharply from where Rude was intently watching her.

_Make some noise, kid. You heard her, _he thought. _I know you got it in you. You're Reno's._ He glanced down at Reno's unconscious form.

A shrill wail broke the silence. Reno's eyes flashed open and he tried to sit up.

Rude was quick to plant both hands on his shoulders, and sternly shake his head at Reno. "Don't move."

"Where's it...? Is it okay...? Rude...?"

Rude just nodded.

"Welcome back, Reno. I'm not done, so I need you to stay still."

"Need...to see..."

"She's just fine. You can see her in a little while," the doctor confirmed.

"She...?" Reno asked. He nodded weakly, but seeming satisfied, repeated, "...s_he_."

"That's right. We're just gonna get her cleaned up here," the nurse chimed in, from across the room.

"Don't care...about that...just lemme see...I don't even care if she's...ugly...just lemme..."

"Patience, Reno. You've waited a long time, I think you can last a little longer."

And last he did, despite a few rather creative insults -- "no good, lily-livered chocobo fucker, tryin' to keep me from my kid!" being one of them -- and, of course, more squirming. Reno's pissy, exhausted, glazed over expression had faded, however, when, after what felt like an eternity to him, he'd been allowed to see and hold the baby. His baby. He had a baby.

* * *

Elena stood up sharply when she saw the door open and Rude slowly step out. "Is he...?" She couldn't even finish her question. She was practically hyperventilating, not to mention shaking pretty fiercely. She tried to elaborate, nonetheless. "I heard the crying, but...?"

"He's fine," Rude assured her.

Elena nodded, somewhat manically. "And...?"

Rude offered a small smile. "Kid's fine too."

Elena flung both arms around Rude and buried her face in his chest, and was sobbing uncontrollably almost immediately.

Though he felt completely out of his element, Rude did his best to comfort her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, but didn't move.

"Sorry," she mumbled, feebly, when she was able to speak again.

"It's okay," Rude assured her.

"I slobbered and cried all over your shirt."

"It's fine. I'm sure I'll get most of my clothes back from Reno now. He didn't alter any of my shirts. I don't think."

Elena managed a little laugh. "When can I see him?"

"They were gonna give him something to knock him out. He's been through a lot, after all."

Elena nodded, solemnly.

"Whenever he's up for it, I guess."

Elena nodded again. "And the baby?"

Rude shook his head. "He said he didn't want anybody to see her until she turned cute."

Elena pouted. "That's no fair." A moment later it hit her. "She?"

"Yeah," Rude confirmed.

Elena resumed sobbing.

* * *

It was dark when Reno awoke, save for the light from one dim lamp. He tried to sit up -- _where the fuck was his baby?_ -- but he was floored by a burning pain in his lower abdomen.

"Easy."

"Where is she?" he demanded, very slowly pulling himself into a sitting position.

"Right here," Elena answered, approaching him slowly, cooing at the bundle in her arms.

"Can you believe it?" Reno asked, softly, taking his girl from Elena.

Rude offered up a nod.

Elena smiled a little, tousling Reno's hair. "I think so."

"Oh yeah? Both of you?"

Rude nodded again.

"Yeah. Both of us." She leaned in closer. "You've always defied logic."

"Yeah. Guess so."

"You're gonna have to work harder than this to get to us."

"Harder than _this_?" Reno repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Alright, alright. This is definitely your best work," Rude admitted.

"I second that," Elena added, quietly.

Three pairs of eyes admired the tiny girl in Reno's arms. Little pink lips, puckered slightly, rosy cheeks, and she had long, long eyelashes and big, bright green eyes just like Aeris. She seemed to have her late mother's brown hair, too, but she was unmistakably Reno's.

"She's really beautiful, Reno," Elena said. A moment later, still staring down at the baby, she softly asked, "What are you gonna call her?"

Reno furrowed his brow. "Crap."

"That's the worst name you've come up with yet," Rude deadpanned. "And that's saying a lot."

Reno laughed a little. After a pause, he stated, "Well, in keeping with tradition..."

Elena crossed her arms. "You will not name this child 'Ugly' or 'Stupid,' Reno Tarshil," she said, warningly.

The redhead smirked. "Wasn't gonna," he assured his friends. Looking down at the baby as if seeking her approval as well, he murmured, "Aylin. I was thinking of calling her Aylin."

Rude cocked his head to the side. "Where'd you come up with that? What's it mean?"

"Means...singled out, pretty much."

"Fits." Rude said. "I like it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"It's a beautiful name," Elena added.

"See, I figure, since she's the last Ancient now, so she's bound to be singled out, even if she is only, what, a quarter Cetra...? Dunno if I want her to be singled out, but there might not be anything I can do about that. Hmm. Really, I just want something she won't mind other people calling her."

"You did all this thinking when?"

"Ha ha, Rude. I've been thinking about it for a while."

"Either way, it's beautiful."

* * *

Reno was dozing. Nobody ever said having a baby was easy. Nor taking care of one. That was the part that had surprised him the most -- just how much such a tiny little person could put him through. Here he'd thought she was hard on him before she was born. But he was wrong. This was definitely the hard part, with the crying and the fussing, and the spitting up on his clothes, and the crapping -- oh, there was tons of crapping. Not to mention being so damn gorgeous he couldn't even begin to be mad at her for any of it.

Aylin was dozing for the moment, just like her daddy. It was the middle of the afternoon -- naptime for both of them. Or so Reno had decided.

He hadn't realized he'd nodded off until a soft rustling woke him. He looked down at his daughter. Still asleep.

Sometimes people told Reno she looked like him, sometimes they asked about her mother. Sometimes they thought Elena was her mother. The way she fussed over both Aylin and Reno, it was no surprise she gave off that impression.

"It's about time you woke up," Reno said, quietly, as not to disturb his baby, who, for the moment anyway, was still asleep.

"What happened?"

"What didn't?" Reno murmured.

"How long was I out?" was the somewhat groggy response he received.

There was a brief moment of silence, broken by the sound of a baby's cry. Two pairs of eyes quickly migrated to the carrier where Aylin had been napping.

"That long," Reno replied, with a smirk. "Suppose I should introduce you two," he concluded, scooping his girl into his arms. She stopped fussing a moment later, just wanting to be held.

"An introduction sounds good. I'd like that."

Reno sat down on the edge of the bed; cerulean eyes met onyx, and, with a nod he gently placed his daughter in waiting arms.

"She's really something," was whispered, followed by, "I can't get over how beautiful she is."

Reno gave a blank look and deadpanned, "I love how surprised everyone sounds when they say that."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"I know you didn't," Reno said, with a grin, observing the awed expression his boss wore as he marveled over the gurgling, wide-eyed and curious child in his arms. Reno took a deep breath. "Tseng, this is Aylin. Aylin, this is Tseng. He saved your life."

* * *

A/N: It's done! -throws confetti- I hope you all enjoyed it.

I don't know if Aylin is a real name, or what it actually means if it is. :P

The reason Tseng is still alive in my story is that he's still alive in Advent Children. I tried my best to stay true to the storyline of the game, as well as deal with that curveball. In my head, Elena's little stop spell made it so his injuries could be treated, but put him into a coma, which he woke up from at the end. I was about 2/3 done with this story when I saw Advent Children and had to rethink things. Hope I did okay with that, and just with the fic in general.


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